Last weekend, Glasgow's two rival soccer teamsthe Celtic and the Rangersfaced off for the first time this season. The only place where the Catalans could safely fly these fags was Barcelonas Nou Camp stadium. 24 hours Celtic fans had passed their initial target of 40,000 ($52,700), Belgian city of Liege cuts ties with Israel over apartheid, Palestinians hit out at EU leader for claiming Israel made 'desert bloom', Celtic fans raise thousands for Palestine in protest at UEFA charges, UEFA investigating Celtic after its fans flew Palestine flag. It depends how you define support. Solidarity with Palestinians shows the clubs supporters have not forgotten their own roots, Original reporting and incisive analysis, direct from the Guardian every morning, 2023 Guardian News & Media Limited or its affiliated companies. And how Celtic chairman Robert Kelly defiantly stood his ground against the games bosses and won. Thats not the only connection Celtic and Liverpool fans share as they are both famed for singing Youll Never Walk Alone during matches. Desmond White (Celtic Chairman in 70s) on then SFA secretary George Graham, Daily Record, Thursday 5 September 1940 Of course flags can still annoy or even antagonise some. REPORT: Which Premier League Clubs Are in Debt? The Herald newspaper sensing that the SFA had overstepped the mark stated at the time, Kelly was asked to realize that the matter was no longer one of just taking down the flag; it was a matter of Celtic defying the instructions of the council. The flying of the Palestinian flag by Celtic fans in the European tie against Hapoel Beersheva last week has made headlines in newspapers and across social media. So around 100 Celtic fans in a crowd of 60,000 waved Palestinian flags at the game in a show of solidarity with the Palestinians. Modern residents of Scotland and Ireland wont share much DNA with these ancient ancestors. Why is there a lot of Irish in Liverpool? In the late 1950s, I was of an age where I could cross the threshold of a place of libation. Why is Celtic vs Rangers called the Old Firm derby? - Goal The trouble made waves in the press and the SFA reacted to suggestions from Glasgow Magistrates to consider the following courses of action. Fans support the most successful teams of their youth Liverpool continues to be one of the Premier League teams with the greatest number of supporters in Ireland and it has enjoyed that honour for a long time. In terms of spectator numbers at live matches, Celtic. The press of 1952 may have screeched, They are still flying the Eire flag!Its flying there still and that isnt likely to change either, nor should it. No, this is not true. Hibs Chairman Harry Swan is still thought of unkindly by older Celtic supporters over his role in this episode but real driving force was SFA Secretary George Graham, a man with no love of Celtic and all they represented. I have copied parts of the letter to illustrate the Editors opinion of Harry Swan.. Some of the biggest and most successful Irish Celtic managers include Martin ONeill, Brendan Rogers and Neil Lennon. Liverpool FC fans often boo the national anthem with manager Jurgen Klopp urging fans to respect a minutes silence for the death of Queen Elizabeth II before Tuesdays nights Champions League match against Ajax. The SFA had used the whole issue for their own ham-fisted aims, but they didnt count on Celtics tenacity over the matter, they expected the club to be docile. Several tribes made up the larger population of the Celtic people. Ref: Celtic ordered to take down Irish Flag by SFA. Australia, the United States, and Canada (particularly Nova Scotia) are also home to Scots Gaelic communities. To civic Scotland and Holyrood, football supporters are regarded as occupying a position somewhere just above drug-pushers and just below crime lords: you can do business with organised crime but you cant do business with football supporters. Why Celtic fans showed solidarity with the people of Palestine When Celtic Park was redeveloped in 1995, that symbolic gesture was repeated when turf from Donegal was once again laid. Solidarity towards the dispossessed and oppressed is easy for the Celtic fan to understand and relate to and makes us sympathetic towards others suffering the same plight. Celtic maintained their stance which had been taken in the original reply to the 1952 incident, with Desmond White, the then Celtic Chairman, penning an excellent reply to the magistrates. Every time Celtic won a game their suffering was eased a little. Eventually it became a beacon of hope and source of pride to dispossessed people. The Scottish connection to Ireland is an easy one to make given the proximity of both countries to each other. The outcome was that the Glasgow magistrates, after consultation among themselves, invited representatives of the Scottish Football Association and the Scottish League to consider the following proposals: 1: That the Rangers and Celtic clubs should not again be paired on New Years Day, when it was suggested passions were likely to be inflamed by drink and when more bottles were likely to be carried than on any other day. The foreign flag referred to wasnt specifically named but those of us well versed in Scottish footballs ways knew exactly what the mean spirited officials of Queens Park were getting at; you can hire the stadium but youre not flying the Irish tricolour above it. For Celtic, a club founded by members of a disparaged minority, it was a big victory for the Irish community and the clubs sympathisers. In 1892, when Celtics stadium, Celtic Park, was built there was a little patch of Ireland on the playing surface. At the time of writing they are comfortably past the 200k mark and will be approaching 500k by the time of the Uefa hearing on 22 September. The invading Cultures have influenced all nations. This flag has nothing to do with the trouble., Celtic, strengthened in their view by councils opinion, continued to fly the flag. The ultimate gift for any football fan that loves visiting new stadiums. In 2014, the club was fined $20,750 by UEFA after dozens of fans waved Palestinian flags at a game against Icelandic side KR Reykjavik after a devastating . If it did, there might have been more scrutiny of the way in which it operated as a global mafia, helping itself to the fruits of ordinary supporters love for football. The first sod of turf laid at Celtics new home had been imported from Donegal in Ireland. The Six Nations considered the heartland of the modern Celts by the Celtic League and Celtic Congress. Such ignorance has little to do with a flag hanging at the opposite end of the ground but is rather the product of prevailing social attitudes of the time among a fair percentage of people in Scotlands industrial heartlands. History has shown that Celtic fans and Palestinians have few friends in the media. Their reasons for doing so were eloquently expressed in a GoFundMe page. Why Scottish Soccer Fans Wave Israeli and Palestinian Flags Like many other sports teams of the time, the Celtics were reflective of their neighbourhood, which was predominantly Irish immigrants. All rights reserved. Why was the Irish flag removed from Dens Park during Dundee v Celtic Several cases of misconduct involving Celtic & Rangers supporters, culminating in disgraceful behaviour at the New Years Day 1952 clash with Rangers, had been concerning the authorities in Scotland. The Canadian resident, usually a champion of all things Lochee, opened: I read Andy Walkers response to the Harry Swan contribution and I wasnt surprised. Such a match-up occurs a few times every year, and is invariably accompanied by the waving of Israeli and Palestinian flags. 'By waving the Palestinian flag, Celtic fans were not choosing a side between Hamas and Fatah, or endorsing any of their political viewpoint'. Connor is a journalist with several years of experience in the industry covering sport, entertainment, cars and the environment. 3 Do Celtic Fans Support Ireland Or Scotland? Many rivals question if Rangers are still the same team anymore, due to the takeover circumstances. Maybe they could have flown the Irish flag at Ibrox at the next Celtic v Rangers game to test their theories out. However, it is not a new phenomenon: Celtic fans fly Palestinian flags every week during games. The views expressed in this article belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of Middle East Eye. : at time of writing the sum stood at $125,000. The History of the Tricolour at Celtic Park - The Celtic Bhoys The usual amount of drunkenness led to some less cerebral home fans making their displeasure known by throwing bottles and the Police waded in with batons flailing to make arrests. Do Celtic Fans Support Ireland Or Scotland? - Tovisorga.com Hibs were established in 1875, over a decade before Celtic, by a collective of Irish immigrants. Games, along with military adventures and royal fecundity, have remained the favoured way of keeping the minds and bodies of the punters occupied while they are being cheated and exploited. However, despite this historic connection to Ireland, Dundee Uniteds Irish past is much less known than its rivals. At this point Celtic Football Club would be forced to challenge UEFA rather than just pay the punitive fine because Celtic know that although their fans love their team and the ethos that permeates through the club, we will stubbornly, like most Scots, not back down and roll over when we are in the right. Liverpool is widely known for having the strongest Irish heritage of any UK city perhaps alongside Glasgow. Why Do Celtic Sing Walk Alone? - Tovisorga.com Where Do Cruise Ships Leave From In Scotland? In 1921, when Ireland became the Free State, the new flag of the infant republic was substituted. The club had been founded by Irishmen and their descendants in the 1880s, and the flag was flown to recall that association. The Irish connection to Celtic is at the heart of what the club represents and throughout its history that bond has only grown stronger. However, George Graham was not an easy man to tackle and was described (even by his peers and neutrals) as a bigot. Football is Connor's main passion. The lyrics were originally adapted by a Liverpool fan named Edward R Williams from Wallasey, and gained slow traction across the terraces at Anfield before it eventually became as well-known as it is today. Blog: Why Celtic fans were right to fly the Palestine flag Throughout the ground and supporters, Celtic Park is adorned with Irish colours and flags. The Club flies the Irish Tricolour on Match Days to mark our Irish heritage. 2 Does Celtic support Ireland? This has resulted in fines from European football's governing body UEFA. This article is available in French onMiddle East Eye French edition.
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