Soccer

Celtic fined for fans’ Palestinian flags during Champions League game

Uefa said flags had ‘provocative messages of an offensive nature’

Celtic fans in the stands hold up flags of Palestine ahead of the Champions League match at Celtic Park. Photograph: Andrew Milligan/PA Wire
Celtic fans in the stands hold up flags of Palestine ahead of the Champions League match at Celtic Park. Photograph: Andrew Milligan/PA Wire
Wed Nov 22 2023 - 15:40

Celtic have been fined £15,200 after their fans waved Palestinian flags during their Champions League match against Atlético Madrid last month in Glasgow.

The flags, which numbered in the hundreds, were deemed to be “provocative messages of an offensive nature”, Uefa said in a statement.

Fans, who had been warned by Celtic before the game on October 25th not to display flags, could be heard singing “You’ll Never Walk Alone” while holding the Palestinian flags in a video shared widely on Instagram. Supporters also unfurled two large banners that read “Free Palestine” and “Victory to the Resistance”.

Gaza’s Hamas-run government says at least 14,100 Palestinians have been killed, thousands of them children, in the war with Israel. The war began on October 7th, when Hamas launched attacks from Gaza into southern Israel, killing at least 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking more than 240 people hostage.

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Celtic are fourth in Champions League Group E on one point after four games. They were also fined £10,000 for fans blocking passageways and using pyrotechnics.

The club – who have been at loggerheads with the Green Brigade fan group recently, following a string of disputes and flashpoints – have told supporters travelling to Rome for next Tuesday’s Champions League match against Lazio that all flags, banners and drums must be preapproved by the Italian club.