The Scottish Football Thread

[Kevin D]

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/football/2023/11/14/why-celtic-fans-are-the-most-controversial-in-britain/
 

Their “Victory to the Resistance” banner as Hamas committed bloody slaughter in Israel angered watching millions, but surprised few inside Celtic Park.

 

The Green Brigade, a group of radical anti-establishment campaigners, have been “proudly” pushing their luck with incendiary gestures for years. Examples stretch back almost since the group were formed in 2006, with IRA-sympathising flags and regular barbs at footballing authorities.

 

In recent months, however, the Green Brigade’s “until the last rebel” mantra has been testing boundaries of acceptability like never before.

 

With Celtic fans so often at the centre of controversy lately, moderate-minded supporters wince as the gestures get ever more personal.

 

After the death of the Queen last year, pre-match commemorations were undermined by a banner declaring “if you hate the royal family clap your hands”. Then, in February, the self-styled “politically conscious” group had a foul-mouthed message for the Scottish Conservative leader Douglas Ross, a registered referee who had been running the line. “Var decision: Douglas Ross is a c---,” their sign said.

 

At the time there was some laughter in the stands, but many in green and white that day now privately condemn the stunt, siding for once with furious refereeing bodies. “I was there with my mother,” says Alasdair Murdoch, who was in the stands for that fixture against St Mirren. “That sign was too much. Mum hasn’t been to Celtic Park since. That’s not what football is about.”

 

Other campaigns involving the group have taken aim at police in recent years and illustrate how the brigade have potentially influenced club recruitment. In the autumn of 2021, there were immediate protests at rumours that then Police Scotland Assistant Chief Constable Bernard Higgins was being hired in a security role at the club. A terrace banner with his photo included the words: “His evil eyes have no place in Paradise”. 

 

On December 17, 2021, Higgins confirmed he would not be joining Celtic. Other anti-police sentiments over the years from fans include the message: “Police Scotland is institutionally racist and discriminatory.”

 

 

Do the Green Brigade ‘guard the soul of Celtic’?

 

Since October 7 and cries of anti-Semitism, Roddy Forsyth, the leading Scottish football journalist, describes a sense that “the line has been crossed”. The brigade have been banned from matches for the last fortnight.

 

But with further disruption in the group’s absence during Remembrance Sunday commemorations over the weekend, the 1967 European Cup winners still face a complicated task as the club scrambles to restore calm. 

 

“You can see a pattern here,” says Forsyth, a former BBC broadcaster and Telegraph Scottish football correspondent of 30 years. “The Green Brigade regard themselves in many respects as they would put it, ‘guarding the soul of Celtic’. That’s maybe not how others see it.”

 

The Green Brigade have been overt supporters of Palestine for the entirety of their 17-year era at Celtic Park. As a club born from the Irish-Catholic diaspora in Scotland, there is an open association and pro-Palestinian flags predate the brigade’s formation.

 

Initially, the group had been warmly welcomed by the club’s wider fanbase, injecting much-needed atmosphere as the team adjusted to a new 60,000 capacity stadium. Raucous singing from the old Jungle standing section on the halfway line had been much missed.

 

As the new group established themselves in part of the North Curve of Celtic Park, organised choreographed displays known as ‘tifos’ became their trademark.

 

 

However, the brigade, made up of 1,000 Celtic fans, would soon also associate themselves with Irish Republicanism and the Palestinian cause, which they believe is aligned with the club’s traditions.

 

The group are as suspicious of authority as any other fanbase in Britain. According to the group’s own website, the Green Brigade are “notoriously difficult for fans to join” and members often keep their identities hidden, with their faces being blurred in photos posted online.

 

Celtic executives knew as soon as flags were waved last month that the club would be at risk of being fined. When the Green Brigade showed support for Palestine in a tie against the Israeli club Hapoel Be’er Sheva in 2016, the club was hit by Uefa for the display of “illicit banners”.

 

On that occasion, the wider fanbase swung behind a brigade fundraising campaign to support charities in Palestine, with more than £175,000 raised to fund the formation of Aida Celtic, a football team in Aida refugee camp in Bethlehem.

 

This current row, however, is a major setback for fans seeking to make the entire Jock Stein stand a standing area. Currently, there are just under 3,000 spaces in the standing zone, largely occupied by the brigade. The group’s vision had been to create a “Celtic End” similar to Borussia Dortmund’s Signal Iduna Arena. However, having temporarily closed Section 111 in the stadium after safety warnings were repeatedly ignored in 2013, the likelihood of extending the area now appears minimal.

 

The club continues to point to safety concerns as it claims its concerns with the brigade extend beyond pro-Palestinian displays, which included the group handing out thousands of flags to supporters as they arrived at various fixtures.

 

The brigade were also blamed by the club over flashpoints at Hibernian’s Easter Road, with stewards targeted with threats and intimidating behaviour.

 

Other issues include fans attempting to storm into Celtic Park for the Champions League clash against Lazio and fireworks at Feyenoord. Uefa has since fined the club twice for the pyrotechnic display in the Netherlands and an “anti-fascist” banner which contained “offensive” language towards Lazio in Italian.

 

An email from the club sent to members of the group attacks “unacceptable conduct”, adding the “safety of all supporters at Celtic Park is of paramount importance and amid these serious safety concerns, this immediate action whilst regrettable, is considered by the club to be necessary”.

 

Green Brigade warn of ‘day of action’

The brigade, however, are hitting back in the battle to win hearts and minds among the club’s huge supporter base. The 267 suspended season-ticket holders registered as members of the Green Brigade are warning of a “day of action” if a dispute with the club is not “satisfactorily resolved”.

In a statement, the group, who have declined to respond to questions from Telegraph Sport, said there was “little value in continuing this online game of statement-tennis which was initiated by the PLC board, and which it continues to draw out by repeating the same disingenuous claims that we have already addressed”.

 

It added: “We note that the PLC board claims to be open to dialogue and engagement. We remind them that we have been waiting for a meeting with chief executive officer Michael Nicholson since the summer.”

 

For Celtic, meanwhile, there is little doubt among those close to talks that the club have no choice but to keep the brigade locked out while war rages.

 

After Free Palestine messages were held up, the club have been singled out for attack by Israel manager Alon Hazan. He branded their fans anti-Semitic, which drew a robust response from the club. 

 

However, Celtic have an Israel player on their books, Liel Abada, who is out injured and he has already been urged by international team-mates to quit the Scottish champions. Since talks with the club as well as Brendan Rodgers, he is said to have been reassured by the club’s stance.

 

However, while Abada maintains a dignified silence, others suggest the Brigade should consider doing the same to avoid undermining the work they have previously done to raise money for Palestinian refugees.

 

Andy Walker, the former Celtic striker, and Forsyth point to a “real cross-section” of supporters, who might wish to put politics behind them when attending games.

 

Walker acknowledged fundraising efforts, but also told Go Radio: “I’ve got to say I couldn’t be less interested in anyone’s politics when I’m at the football”.

 

Forsyth added: “The group has done a lot of fundraising, in fairness, but it must be remembered that Celtic also have some Jewish support.”

 

The brigade will need to calm themselves from their “until the last rebel” radical instincts to stand much chance of a return to the North Curve in the coming weeks.

 

[Mook]

The majority of Celtic supporters I know (some of whom are season ticket holders) think the Green Brigade are wee fannies.

[sir roger]

Can't believe they tarred loveable Lazio as fascists

 

[Kevin D]

Celtic fans livid at being 5 points clear at the top of the league:

 

 

[Creator Supreme]

11 minutes ago, Kevin D said:

Celtic fans livid at being 5 points clear at the top of the league:

 

 

For context, 5 points ahead having played 2 games more. Before last week it was 5 ahead on the same amount of games.

 

They've fucked it, Rangers will walk that league now (sadly), and Rodgson is to blame as much as the board.

[VladimirIlyich]

On 14/11/2023 at 11:10, Kevin D said:

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/football/2023/11/14/why-celtic-fans-are-the-most-controversial-in-britain/
 

Their “Victory to the Resistance” banner as Hamas committed bloody slaughter in Israel angered watching millions, but surprised few inside Celtic Park.

 

The Green Brigade, a group of radical anti-establishment campaigners, have been “proudly” pushing their luck with incendiary gestures for years. Examples stretch back almost since the group were formed in 2006, with IRA-sympathising flags and regular barbs at footballing authorities.

 

In recent months, however, the Green Brigade’s “until the last rebel” mantra has been testing boundaries of acceptability like never before.

 

With Celtic fans so often at the centre of controversy lately, moderate-minded supporters wince as the gestures get ever more personal.

 

After the death of the Queen last year, pre-match commemorations were undermined by a banner declaring “if you hate the royal family clap your hands”. Then, in February, the self-styled “politically conscious” group had a foul-mouthed message for the Scottish Conservative leader Douglas Ross, a registered referee who had been running the line. “Var decision: Douglas Ross is a c---,” their sign said.

 

At the time there was some laughter in the stands, but many in green and white that day now privately condemn the stunt, siding for once with furious refereeing bodies. “I was there with my mother,” says Alasdair Murdoch, who was in the stands for that fixture against St Mirren. “That sign was too much. Mum hasn’t been to Celtic Park since. That’s not what football is about.”

 

Other campaigns involving the group have taken aim at police in recent years and illustrate how the brigade have potentially influenced club recruitment. In the autumn of 2021, there were immediate protests at rumours that then Police Scotland Assistant Chief Constable Bernard Higgins was being hired in a security role at the club. A terrace banner with his photo included the words: “His evil eyes have no place in Paradise”. 

 

On December 17, 2021, Higgins confirmed he would not be joining Celtic. Other anti-police sentiments over the years from fans include the message: “Police Scotland is institutionally racist and discriminatory.”

 

 

Do the Green Brigade ‘guard the soul of Celtic’?

 

Since October 7 and cries of anti-Semitism, Roddy Forsyth, the leading Scottish football journalist, describes a sense that “the line has been crossed”. The brigade have been banned from matches for the last fortnight.

 

But with further disruption in the group’s absence during Remembrance Sunday commemorations over the weekend, the 1967 European Cup winners still face a complicated task as the club scrambles to restore calm. 

 

“You can see a pattern here,” says Forsyth, a former BBC broadcaster and Telegraph Scottish football correspondent of 30 years. “The Green Brigade regard themselves in many respects as they would put it, ‘guarding the soul of Celtic’. That’s maybe not how others see it.”

 

The Green Brigade have been overt supporters of Palestine for the entirety of their 17-year era at Celtic Park. As a club born from the Irish-Catholic diaspora in Scotland, there is an open association and pro-Palestinian flags predate the brigade’s formation.

 

Initially, the group had been warmly welcomed by the club’s wider fanbase, injecting much-needed atmosphere as the team adjusted to a new 60,000 capacity stadium. Raucous singing from the old Jungle standing section on the halfway line had been much missed.

 

As the new group established themselves in part of the North Curve of Celtic Park, organised choreographed displays known as ‘tifos’ became their trademark.

 

 

However, the brigade, made up of 1,000 Celtic fans, would soon also associate themselves with Irish Republicanism and the Palestinian cause, which they believe is aligned with the club’s traditions.

 

The group are as suspicious of authority as any other fanbase in Britain. According to the group’s own website, the Green Brigade are “notoriously difficult for fans to join” and members often keep their identities hidden, with their faces being blurred in photos posted online.

 

Celtic executives knew as soon as flags were waved last month that the club would be at risk of being fined. When the Green Brigade showed support for Palestine in a tie against the Israeli club Hapoel Be’er Sheva in 2016, the club was hit by Uefa for the display of “illicit banners”.

 

On that occasion, the wider fanbase swung behind a brigade fundraising campaign to support charities in Palestine, with more than £175,000 raised to fund the formation of Aida Celtic, a football team in Aida refugee camp in Bethlehem.

 

This current row, however, is a major setback for fans seeking to make the entire Jock Stein stand a standing area. Currently, there are just under 3,000 spaces in the standing zone, largely occupied by the brigade. The group’s vision had been to create a “Celtic End” similar to Borussia Dortmund’s Signal Iduna Arena. However, having temporarily closed Section 111 in the stadium after safety warnings were repeatedly ignored in 2013, the likelihood of extending the area now appears minimal.

 

The club continues to point to safety concerns as it claims its concerns with the brigade extend beyond pro-Palestinian displays, which included the group handing out thousands of flags to supporters as they arrived at various fixtures.

 

The brigade were also blamed by the club over flashpoints at Hibernian’s Easter Road, with stewards targeted with threats and intimidating behaviour.

 

Other issues include fans attempting to storm into Celtic Park for the Champions League clash against Lazio and fireworks at Feyenoord. Uefa has since fined the club twice for the pyrotechnic display in the Netherlands and an “anti-fascist” banner which contained “offensive” language towards Lazio in Italian.

 

An email from the club sent to members of the group attacks “unacceptable conduct”, adding the “safety of all supporters at Celtic Park is of paramount importance and amid these serious safety concerns, this immediate action whilst regrettable, is considered by the club to be necessary”.

 

Green Brigade warn of ‘day of action’

The brigade, however, are hitting back in the battle to win hearts and minds among the club’s huge supporter base. The 267 suspended season-ticket holders registered as members of the Green Brigade are warning of a “day of action” if a dispute with the club is not “satisfactorily resolved”.

In a statement, the group, who have declined to respond to questions from Telegraph Sport, said there was “little value in continuing this online game of statement-tennis which was initiated by the PLC board, and which it continues to draw out by repeating the same disingenuous claims that we have already addressed”.

 

It added: “We note that the PLC board claims to be open to dialogue and engagement. We remind them that we have been waiting for a meeting with chief executive officer Michael Nicholson since the summer.”

 

For Celtic, meanwhile, there is little doubt among those close to talks that the club have no choice but to keep the brigade locked out while war rages.

 

After Free Palestine messages were held up, the club have been singled out for attack by Israel manager Alon Hazan. He branded their fans anti-Semitic, which drew a robust response from the club. 

 

 

Forsyth added: “The group has done a lot of fundraising, in fairness, but it must be remembered that Celtic also have some Jewish support.”

 

 

 

Nice hint of 'anti semitism' when criticism of the Israeli government is used. The Pro Israel PR machine in full force.

[Bjornebye]

6 hours ago, Creator Supreme said:

For context, 5 points ahead having played 2 games more. Before last week it was 5 ahead on the same amount of games.

 

They've fucked it, Rangers will walk that league now (sadly), and Rodgson is to blame as much as the board.

 
Celtic will still win the league, it’s been a wank few games but they’re still miles ahead of r*ngers in my opinion. No European distraction either. The discontent though is showing with the board who have never really been in favour at Parkhead for years. Old Firm in a few weeks will be telling but binning they Green Brigade was a mistake. Watched the game yesterday and it was packed out but the atmosphere was flat as fuck. 

[Kevin D]

Endo, I forgive you:

 

[sir roger]

That young lad that Wolves bought from The Ramones has signed on loan for Rangers.

[VladimirIlyich]

8 hours ago, sir roger said:

That young lad that Wolves bought from The Ramones has signed on loan for Rangers.

I think he needs to be sedated.

[sir roger]

A bit cheeky of Rangers with the carryings-on around the non-penalty at Celtic, when they had not conceded one for 74 games, and there are thousands of  Scots who think their captain's full name is Tavernier ( pen )