Celtic must extend the invitation for the Palestinian nation team.

Yesterday, one of those stories broke that is so multifaceted, I thought it might take a couple of articles to get through all the various elements and aspects of it.

But in truth, this is a very simple article to write because the concept itself is so clear and obvious—such a no-brainer—that any attempt to complicate it only plays into the hands of people who would try to put obstacles in the way.

In my view, those people should not be part of the discussion at all.

The story that broke yesterday was the one about the Palestinian national team’s head coach saying that he would love it if they played a glamour friendly against Celtic. Now, we play glamour friendlies all the time, but this would be on a whole other level.

This would be in another planetary solar system of positivity, good publicity, and growing the global brand. You want to extend Celtic’s reach beyond these borders? This is one way to do it—and a big way at that. A very big way indeed.

It’s a good thing our club didn’t specify which of the banners put up at games recently they had the biggest issue with, because if they’d said the anti-Israel banner, this idea would have been dead in the water before it even got off the ground.

I’m not saying you have to be anti-Israel to be pro-Palestinian. There are plenty of people across the world who manage to see both the Israeli and the Palestinian perspectives at the same time. I myself understand that Israel has security needs, and that those needs have to be met, whilst also believing that what they’re doing in Palestine is an unconscionable crime.

But our club came very close to taking a position it is desperately trying not to take.

That’s why I think there could be some resistance to the idea of playing against the Palestinian national team—because there are members of our board who wouldn’t want to rock the boat, who wouldn’t want to promote the Palestinian cause too much, even though that ship has sailed and our club is irrevocably connected to it, whether they like it or not.

Our supporters would flock to such a game. Fundraising would go through the roof. It would raise enormous sums of money for the cause of the Palestinian people—a just cause, let’s not forget. Their main cities have been smashed beyond recognition, and they are still being preyed upon by vultures all over the world.

Like Trump, who wants to turn Gaza into his own private resort.

And to hell with what those people think or want or need.

It would send a clear message to the world about which side we are on—the side of oppressed people and their hopes for their nation to grow and stand tall. About basic human dignity. About basic human rights.

If this is really on offer—and it clearly is—we have to take it. We must do this. There is an imperative to do this. There are a million and one reasons to do it. I can’t think of a single reason not to.

Invite them to Celtic Park so we can have the biggest possible crowd at the game. Watch as all of Scottish football—save for a handful, and we know which handful—rallies to be part of it. We’ll see how many clubs send delegations. We’ll see how many wish them well. We’ll see how many people throughout this land—parliamentarians, writers, academics, people in the arts—send their best wishes to the Palestinian national team as it sets foot on these shores.

We can call it whatever we like. We can call it a promotion of peace. That, after all, is what we want in the region. It’s what everyone wants in the region. We can affirm that we believe in the United Nations Charter and the Palestinian people’s right to self-determination. They are already a recognised country at the UN, even if they are not yet a full member. But numerous European nations and countries around the world have already granted them full diplomatic recognition and status.

And these are the reasons to do it simply if you want to look good to the rest of the world. If you want to come across as a progressive, open club, which takes an active interest in the goings-on in the wider world.

But there are financial reasons to do it too. There are reasons beyond being good little boys and girls on the world stage. You want to grow Celtic’s footprint across parts of the world where everyone watches the game and wants to wear an English Premier League kit? Forget about that; we can make a whole generation want to follow nothing but Celtic.

I cannot think of a single reason—not one—why this is not a good idea.

Sure, there are complicated politics involved. But how and where does that impact us? So the Daily Telegraph won’t like it. Who gives a shit what the Daily Telegraph likes and doesn’t like? They don’t like us anyway.

They’re not going to be sending their reporters to write nice things about us, no matter what we do. They know who we are. They know what we are. Their closed little minds are already made up.

There’s not going to be any big outcry from the Jewish lobby either. And I can say that with complete confidence. The Palestinian cause is supported by plenty of Jewish people. If the Palestinian cause didn’t have a core body of support within Israel itself—within its Jewish population—that cause would have been extinguished a long time ago.

If it wasn’t for Jewish academics, politicians, writers, and broadcasters all across the world—determined to point out to the country they love what its limitations are, where it has gone wrong, and how it has betrayed some of its most fundamental founding principles in treating the Palestinians the way their forefathers and forebears were treated all across the world, throughout recorded history, but especially here in Europe—then the Palestinian cause would not have some of its loudest voices now.

Because they are some of its loudest voices and greatest advocates.

Where is the downside? Where is the opposition going to come from—the meaningful opposition? Who’s going to stand up and say this is wrong? Who’s going to stand up and say we shouldn’t be doing this and give a coherent reason why?

A coherent reason. Not just scumbags on the fringes hoping they can say something absolutely scandalous and bigoted and that it chimes with people across Scotland. Of course, it will chime with some, but not with enough people.

Because most people can see who’s right and who’s wrong here.

The political class will welcome it, I assure you.

Much of liberal Scotland will applaud it to the heavens. It may draw some minor protests. I’m sure Scottish Protestants Against Discrimination can find some reason not to like it, even though it’s got nothing to do with them. I’m sure they’ll find some way to tie it into the Grand Conspiracy Of The Unseen Fenian hand. I care not.

Tell me why this isn’t something we should embrace.

Tell me where it goes against our club’s cultural ethos.

We’re not making an anti-Israeli point. We’re not making some anti-Semite point—although we will certainly be accused of that by the brainless and by those seeking to score a few cheap and nasty points.

But it’s none of those things. This is a statement that says we recognise the rights and the plight of the Palestinian people. That we have sympathy for the place they find themselves in and the circumstances they’re in.

And respect for their courage and strength in the face of it.

There’s no statement in there about Israeli government policy.

It’s got nothing to do with Israeli government policy.

I defy anyone to say that playing the Palestinian national team at Celtic Park would make some statement on Israeli government policy. But so what if it did? Faced with this opportunity, are we honestly going to say as a club that we have a problem with that? Are we honestly going to say that, as an institution, it’s none of our concern?

This is more than just a national team coach making a suggestion or a request. This is, in its own way, either a metaphorical cry for help or a call to arms.

They need support from around the world. And that support cannot be invisible.

It has to be upfront and clear. Are we really going to say no? Are we going to turn our faces away?

Don’t they read their Bible? The Good Samaritan?

Do we really want to pass by on the other side, or are we going to do what’s morally right?

They’ve extended the invitation, but what they’re really doing is asking for one. And we must not let them down. If there was ever an idea whose time has come, and which would be supported right across our fan base, it is this one.

And I hope we have the courage and integrity to make it real.

(NP | Hollandse Hoogte | BART STOUTJESDIJK Photo by ANP via Getty Images)

Our latest podcast, Hampden Here We Come, is up now.