Soccer Football - Pre Season Friendly - Celtic v Wolverhampton Wanderers - Aviva Stadium, Dublin, Republic of Ireland - July 29, 2023 Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers before the match REUTERS/Clodagh Kilcoyne
The news that Liel Abada is back in training has people in the media talking about what comes next. The press continues to push the narrative that he has no way back at our club and that there is no option but for him to leave or for us to sell him.
They talk like people who have an inside track, but in fact they are reacting to what they think they hear in the background.
That there is no actual “pressure” on him back in Israel, just a drumbeat of negativity about Celtic which is not exactly a new thing, or from the stands at Parkhead, where almost everyone has been supportive of the guy appears not to matter to the hacks writing this stuff. Palestinian flags are not new at our ground. So, it’s hard to know what the problem is.
I’m actually not joking here.
I said in a previous piece that the club had bent over backwards to help him and we have.
I’m glad he’s back in training because he needs to be in the team and making a real contribution and not sitting in the stand. Sure, there are people in Israel telling him to leave Celtic but I would be gobsmacked if any of them actually cared that much. I am sure they have a lot more important things to think about than this.
The most annoying stories are those which say that it’s Brendan Rodgers who has to somehow fix this situation.
What exactly is the manager being blamed for here?
What is that people think he should do?
End the assault on Gaza? (I refuse to call it “a war” as some in the media appear to be doing, as a war assumes two sides pounding away at each other; no such thing is happening here. This is one side smashing through the other.)
Failing that, what?
He can’t get on an airplane and go over there to Israel and sort out the people who think Celtic is an anti-Semitic club. I wouldn’t want him to.
Why should we even attempt to defend ourselves from such an ill-informed charge? If people want to know what Celtic is they can find out easily. If they presume they know and are content to bask in their own ignorance then I don’t care what they think.
No, the only person who can sort this out is Liel Abada, and it’s really that simple. He can decide who he listens to. He can decide what it is that he chooses to believe. If he thinks that a section of our support hates him, he’ll need to work that out for himself. I see no evidence of it.
A lot of fans are sick of this situation being dredged up every time the manager names his starting eleven, but that’s about it.
If he no longer wants to play in front of Palestinian flags then I’d suggest he stop listening to those who are filling his head with poison. He’s spent two years playing in front of them without any of this in his head. If thinks a tiny group of morons in our support who flew that appalling banner on 7 October represent the thinking in the stands then he can go whenever he wants because he ought to know better than that, and he isn’t thinking it through.
Celtic has done all it can now.
The manager has offered him a friendly ear and the support he asked for.
The team has rallied around him.
Now that he’s back in training it’s up to him to do the next part. It’s all up to him now.
He is the one who will decide what happens next. He is the one who will choose whether his time here continues or if this is how it ends.
Even those who think this whole season is collapsing because of Rodgers cannot blame him for this one. This isn’t on him. He’s done all that he can. Blaming him for this is like blaming him for the rain. The whole nature of this debate is now frankly ridiculous.
Would you leave say a club in Italy because Hugh keevins & the rest in the Scottish media were saying you should ? its laughable to think abade would leave because the same “type” of people in isreali media are saying he should.
The thing about Isreali, is that it’s run by Zionists, who by the way don’t like Jewish people who are not Zionists
Why would tou like to people like that. A government that has stuck 2 fingers up to the ICj and continue to commit genocide.
It seems to be forgotten that it was Hamas who started all this and they still have over 100 Israeli people held captive. It is them who should be seeking a cease fire and releasing their hostages.
Hamaz never started all this. They attacked Isreal on the 7th of October. This has been ongoing since 1948. Isreal has thousands of Palestinian hostages too, who also should be released
Perhaps whoever writes the legalities of the next Celtic signing’s contract should have it written in that as a global brand Celtic FC supporters fly (legal) flags of all countries and refusal to play because of potential offence will incur a suspension of salary…
Club totally protected financially then…
However we are in a dangerous situation regarding our title and given all hands will be needed on the pump perhaps the flag could be put into storage if it means Abada playing to the potential that we know he can once again !
Like any other player who dosnt want to be at Celtic we should show him the door.
I haven’t fully read all the comments here but I’m copying a post of mine from VideoCelts earlier which is along the same lines.
“If Liel Abada is a decent guy and behaves like a proper professional footballer which he is paid to do by Celtic FC then he should ‘rise above’ all this and run out in the Hoops when he’s chosen and perform at the very top of his game to show our supporters that he’s worth our support. Brendan’s reasons for going public with this may justify it but on the outside it seems to me like very poor judgement as it just puts Liel and the ‘issue’ in the spotlight.
There are many, many Israeli citizens who are absolutely against the slaughter in Gaza and find the war-monger Netanyahu as detestable as I do and it’s quite possible that Liel and his family are of such mind. I don’t know, of course but I’d like to think so. In any event if Liel performs for Celtic he’ll have the support of us all and maybe THAT is the most important point here. Come on Liel, give us some mazy runs and some terrific goals and you’ll never have to think of this again.
HH”
Should a catholic player at ibrox “suffer” or continue to play at his best even though the ibrox fan base, incessantly sing anti catholic songs. Display anti catholic banners etc. When the shoe is on the other foot etc!