KILMARNOCK, SCOTLAND - NOVEMBER 10: Celtic fans hold up a banner during a William Hill Premiership match between Kilmarnock and Celtic at Rugby Park, on November 10, 2024, in Kilmarnock, Scotand. (Photo by Roddy Scott/SNS Group via Getty Images)
I’ve said before that our board of directors lacks any coherent semblance of strategic thought—and today they surely proved it.
To paraphrase another Forrest; Gump said, “Stupid is as stupid does.” And these people could not have given a clearer demonstration of how stupid they are than in today’s breaking news—that they’ve given the Green Brigade a three-match suspended ban for, amongst other things, flying Palestinian flags.
Oh, dear God. This club is run by the dumbest people imaginable, and they have, by virtue of the clown-car way they go about things, completely lost the plot when it comes to dealing with supporters properly. This is a singularly bad time to be pissing off large sections of the fanbase. They must have known how badly this would be perceived. They did it anyway. That reveals not just arrogance, but a breathtaking hubris.
Let’s be blunt. There is barely a football support anywhere in the world that does not contain some people who agree with the Israeli position on Gaza. That’s just a fact. Whether we’re talking about ultranationalist Jews or those who subscribe to the view that 7 October was an act that needed to be answered in blood to such an extent that it would never be tried again—those elements exist even within our support.
But whilst it’s crazy to claim that our support is unanimously behind the Palestinian cause, if you remove that small number, then you’re pretty close to unanimity. There is probably no more consensus-defining issue in the world right now than the plight of the Palestinian people. That’s why nearly every serious nation has either recognised Palestinian statehood or is preparing to do so.
It’s why even our abysmally weak Prime Minister is trying to show some backbone—although as I say in my latest politics blog (which I will link at the bottom), he cannot be trusted and has given himself an out.
Still, even within the Labour government there are voices—like Johnathon Reynolds—who you’d never have expected to end up supporting a policy that directly flies in the face of the Israeli lobby. And yet here we are.
That’s how close we are to this being a settled, global moral position. Gaza is now shorthand for injustice. To do anything that appears to punish people for showing solidarity with it will be seen as a staggering affront to decency.
To do that now, when the club is in the middle of a serious perception crisis? That’s mind-bending. And if anything reveals the contempt this board has for its own fans, it’s their belief that they can get away with this—and that there won’t be consequences.
It doesn’t even matter what the details of this are. What matters is how it looks. And anyone with half a brain could have told them how it would look.
I’ve stood up for the board before, when it came to their actions toward the Green Brigade. On those occasions, they were right. Certain individuals behaved in a way that was unacceptable and had to be reminded of their responsibilities to the club and to the wider support. I had no issue with those previous bans.
But this is not like that—not even close. And even if it were, there are a lot of us who are not in the mood right now to do the club any favours. We will not be bounced into backing some club-approved line.
People feel angry. People feel disrespected. And that’s because the board has brought that feeling upon itself, with the way it treats supporters. With the way it treats fan media. And let’s be honest, with the way it treats the manager.
This is where we are. And they’ve led us here.
They’re the ones who keep asking fans for more money and give nothing back. No vision. No transparency. Not even a coherent transfer strategy. What we’ve seen this summer is scattergun and amateurish—some of the worst I’ve seen.
We have virtually no chance of keeping Rodgers beyond this season, and the fans know it. And we’re all watching nervously, wondering who this board—this board that’s twice appointed Lennon—will come up with next.
As I said in a previous piece, I’ve listened to all the podcasts over the last few days. I’ve read all the blogs worth reading. And I can’t remember a time when the support was this on edge—this bubbling with frustration and anger. And this decision? This puts the tin hat on it. Because this is the last thing we needed right now. It doesn’t just show contempt. It shows blindness. It shows recklessness. It’s almost unbelievable.
And the dark irony of it all is that the only thing holding this whole thing together right now—the only thing stopping this from spiralling into a full-blown crisis—is the faith most of us still have in the manager. The same manager the board is pissing on from a great height. But if this campaign starts to unravel? If the results start to go against us? They’ll feel a level of anger they’ve never faced before.
So of course, they’d try to throw their weight around and pick a fight with the club’s biggest and most prominent supporters’ group.
Because that’s exactly how you foster unity in a time of turmoil, isn’t it? That’s exactly how you steady the ship ahead of a long, difficult campaign. These people don’t have a clue. And the problem with hubris is that it eventually breeds nemesis.
They’d better pray Brendan and the players can keep it at bay.
You can read and follow A Country Of Our Own on Substack here.
Joe McHugh wrote a piece yesterday about the Green Brigade’s planned tifo for flag day and how it might hint at more of a relationship between the supporters group and the club, and now this. It’s astonishing, August is a very challenging month for us and the idiots on the board are determined to keep increasing the difficulty. Why can’t they come out publicly and speak? Tell us their point of view and maybe a grown up conversation and solution could be reached.
This board simply have to go, no other words required!!
Sevco must be laughing their heads off at our summer and now this…
The Green Brigade can annoy the utter fuck outta me with the fines they have cost the club but nobody can deny the awesome atsmophere they bring to Parkhead for sure…
And the last time they were banned – The team fuckin suffered badly without them !
Clach, couldn’t agree more, the GB annoy me at times as well particularly the pyro as a COPD sufferer. If the board ban the guys for protesting against genocide then everyone who wants see the genocide stop for whatever reason should boycott a match and protest outside Celtic Park.
Didn’t think this board could get any more seperated from the fans.
I can only see trouble ahead and the board will deserve everything that comes their way.
James I’m in general agreement with you re the Celtic board and I entirely deprecate lsrael’s genocidal and colonialist actings against the ordinary people of Gaza and the West Bank. I think it likely that the directors have acted so that they can claim to UEFA that they have done something, should the club be threatened with a further fine, or with a partial closure of the stadium. However: the Green Brigade is only a small proportion of Celtic’s fan base, and its principal loyalties are political rather than sporting; in other words, it’s an entryist organisation like Militant was. I gave up attending away matches several years ago, being concerned about the GB’s use of pyro, in my immediate vicinity, having been threatened when I objected. I would shed no tears if the GB was banned from Celtic Park forever – if the directors are to be faulted, it should be for indulging them. Begone and don’t come back!
What was wrong with Militant?
I recently advocated Celtic refusing to play Macabi Tel Aviv if drawn against them in the CL.
Now this which I find quite unbelievable, Celtic are telling our support not to protest against genocide.
Have they forgotten why Celtic were founded?
Most of our fans are descendants of people who escaped starvation and genocide in Ireland.
Are the board really that stupid?
We’d had EUFA hangovers from the GB’s previous protests inside the ground and could do without more punishment, pyros included.
The cause however is undoubtedly just and I agree with their sentiment. But should Celtic or Celtic’s fans suffer and perhaps be banned due to a stand being closed or having to play in an empty Paradise as a result.
I don’t believe it’s arrogant to protect the club and its fans, maybe it’s arrogant to use Paradise as their stage. Sounds harsh I know but we’re a football club, not a business either, as you keep banging on about.
Why don’t the green brigade rallying or march outside or to the ground? Or any other part of Glasgow for that matter.
So killing the entire atmosphere at Celtic Park by banning the ultras is going to help the team ?
This is an astonishing development of breathtaking stupidity which shows this moronic board are not only completely out of touch with the Celtic support but humanity to.
Talk about reading the room?
An astonishing decision from the Board. I’m not necessarily the GB’s biggest fan but it’s undeniable that they add to the CP atmosphere more often than not.
Israel was violated on 7 October but they exceeded the tolerance level for revenge a long, long time ago and their actions now are unforgivable.
If this is truly the Boards’ position it’s beyond stupid. I’d go as far to say it’s an out and out disgrace and the support needs to let them know in no uncertain terms.
My two sons and I have acted in the only practical way we can. This afternoon we emailed the ticket office cancelling three HCTS memberships.
This lot will not get an extra penny from us.
UEFA’s Policy:
Banning Political, Religious, and Personal Slogans: UEFA’s regulations prohibit the display of any political, religious, or personal slogans at their events. This includes not just flags, but also any kind of messaging or imagery that could be seen as expressing a political stance.
Disciplinary Action for Breaches: If political flags or symbols are displayed, UEFA typically imposes sanctions, including fines or even stadium bans for clubs or national teams whose fans display them. These actions are taken to ensure compliance with UEFA’s neutrality policy.
Palestinian Flags and Similar Symbols: In recent years, there have been incidents where Palestinian flags were displayed at UEFA matches, particularly in the context of protests or in solidarity with Palestinians. UEFA’s response in such cases has generally been to remove or confiscate the flags, as they are seen as political symbols. In some instances, teams have been fined or warned.
Public Statements by UEFA: UEFA has repeatedly made it clear that its priority is to prevent football from becoming a platform for political activism. The organization’s president, Alexander Ceferin, has stated that football should remain separate from politics and that UEFA aims to ensure that the sport remains a neutral ground where fans of all backgrounds can come together.
That doesn’t seem to include Ukrainian Flags, if this policy was carried out across the board there would hardly be a club in Europe not being disciplined.
If this is true then the Celtic board are so out of touch with most Celtics supporters opinions and even World opinion regarding the humanitarian crisis in Gaza it beggars belief.
This Celtic Board are now gambling with the future success of this club, with BR’s update in his press conference today, and this threat against the GB what should be a celebration on Sunday could turn into a hostile atmosphere with demonstrations against this board.
God help them if the team struggles on Sunday, They are so out of touch with the support on so many issues and the lack of communication with the fans is disgraceful. We are now in the month of August with a two leg European Qualifier and away games at Pittodrie and Ibrox on the horizon and it’s obvious that we’re not in great shape.
That press conference today and the idiotic needless threat on a section of our support is the final straw with me. This club is now in a crisis completely instigated by the incompetence of this board.
This really isn’t about the Green Brigade any more. It’s about a board so amoral, self serving, arrogant, out of touch and too stupid to realise the damage they are doing to Celtic Football Club.
Just on the Palestinian flag issue alone, they deserve to be condemned.
If they think that supporting the Palestinians in public is wrong, there is no hope for these scoundrels.
They should just go the whole way and join their “Old Firm” pals in saluting Israel.
As I’ve said before – A Parcel of Rogues.
I’m not sure why so many are blowing smoke up the green brigade arse. One comment here already about a fellow fan being threatened. This is widespread. Intimidation is what they do. They wanted every single fan to have a Palestine flag for the Atletico game. Intimidation tactics were used there as well. In reality far less than half actually took a flag to the game or took one from the GB. The GB think that normal Celtic fans cant produce an atmosphere with out them. Absolute bullshit. There was great atmospheres at parkhead long before they started turning up. There is a real stink of antisemitism from the GB. Not for wishing for the bombing to stop in Gaza but for their support for Hamas and other unsavoury groups. Jews don’t feel welcome at celtic park anymore. Not hard-line Israeli Jews but Jews in general…that’s a fact!
Unlike the normal high standard of opinion this one feels like it’s pure conjecture backed up with a lot emotive language.
Giants on the field and Pygmies on the Board.
No doubt they will decide to make a stand at some point but let’s not forget that the Celtic Board brought politics into football by refusing to play Dynamo Kiev because of the USSR’s invasion of Czechoslovakia. These pygmies will change their moral stance as long as there is money in it for themselves.