Glasgow /PNN / Roddy Keenan -
Supporters of Glasgow Celtic football club in Scotland demonstrated their support for the people of Palestine when they flew hundreds of Palestine flags at their game against Heart of Midlothian in Edinburgh on Sunday.
Formed in 1888 by Irish immigrants to help feed the poor and hungry living in Glasgow’s east end, Celtic fans have a long history of solidarity with the Palestinian cause. In 2016 the club was fined 10,000 euros by UEFA when they flew Palestinian flags in a UEFA Champions League game against Israeli club Hapoel Be’er Sheva.
In response to the fine, Celtic fans launched a campaign to ‘Match the fine for Palestine’ and sought to raise £15,000 to help purchase medical supplies for those living in Gaza, and buy football kits and equipment for young people in Bethlehem’s Aida refugee camp, enabling them to have their own team.
Within weeks, the fundraising drive had raised an astonishing £175,000. The money raised was donated to Medical Aid for Palestine, a UK based organisation that 'delivers health and medical care to those worst affected by conflict, occupation and displacement’, and the Lajee Centre in Aida refuge Camp in Bethlehem which seeks to ‘provide refugee youth and women with cultural, educational, social and developmental opportunities.’
Despite Celtic’s board of directors distancing themselves from the supporters actions, the Green Brigade Celtic supporters group has released a statement calling on Celtic fans to ‘‘remain true to the founding ethos of the club and to stand on side of the oppressed’ at their forthcoming UEFA Champions League game in Glasgow on Wednesday night.
‘On 25th October v Atletico Madrid, we encourage all fans to fly the national flag of Palestine,’ the statement read. ‘This small act of solidarity carries significant meaning to those who are currently subject to indiscriminate bombing and unimaginable suffering, because it lets them know they are not alone.’
In light of the history of Glasgow Celtic football club, and its supporters’ solidarity with the people of Palestine, there is little doubt that the flag of Palestine will fly high in the Glasgow night sky on Wednesday in support of the men, women and children of Occupied Palestine.
