UEFA charge Celtic over Palestine flags

[Bostonian]

Yes touching, if you think blowing innocent children and women to bits is touching then I guess so

Well I can't comment on the methods of the English and Israelis but as you point out blowing up and killing innocent people to bits to ensure they are able to subjugated those other groups seems to be one of their methods over the years.

 

[kangaspurs]

The 'Match the Fine for Palestine' movement has now raised over 150,000 pounds for Palestinian charities. A number that would never have been attainable without their demonstration.

Excellent work Celtic fans!

 

[WealstoneRaider]

Well I can't comment on the methods of the English and Israelis but as you point out blowing up and killing innocent people to bits to ensure they are able to subjugated those other groups seems to be one of their methods over the years.

Oh really? I think you need to educate yourself further in the matter. Although the IRA had a policy of avoiding civilian deaths, because the organisation was run in cells it was often the case that rogue ones would appear, who actively planted bombs that would kill and injure many. Check the Warrington bombing for example. The IRA were murderrous scum. Most backers of the IRA were the plastic type who no longer live there - most notably the ones from the US (Boston strangely enough). They have no understanding of the matter of these islands except for some old propaganda that's been handed down to them.

As for the Palestinians, the Israelis have tried time and time again to make peace with them, and help the Palestinian people become sustainable. After all it's in their own interests to do this. The Palestinians do not want to know though and would rather live in the s**t hole they do so they can keep this war with Israel going. It obviously speaks to your liberal mind that these poor "oppressed" people are the victims. It's complete bollocks though, and I suggest you do a little more reading away from the left wing media to gain a fuller perspective.

 

[PP34]

How is kicking racism out of football in anyway political?

Racism has plenty to do with politics.

It absolutely should be eradicated, but fining a club for having Palestine flags doesn't seem fair.

 

[Zidane98]

Racism has plenty to do with politics.

It absolutely should be eradicated, but fining a club for having Palestine flags doesn't seem fair.

It absolutely is fair when the intent of the club is to bait the opposition.

That s**t has no place in football. Go and protest about it by all means but keep it out of the football field please.

And racism is not a political issue. Everyone agrees it has no place in modem society.

 

[Zidane98]

The 'Match the Fine for Palestine' movement has now raised over 150,000 pounds for Palestinian charities. A number that would never have been attainable without their demonstration.

Excellent work Celtic fans!

The only reason they are doing it is because of the UEFA fine. Interesting it took that to get them going.

 

[Bostonian]

Oh really? I think you need to educate yourself further in the matter. Although the IRA had a policy of avoiding civilian deaths, because the organisation was run in cells it was often the case that rogue ones would appear, who actively planted bombs that would kill and injure many. Check the Warrington bombing for example. The IRA were murderrous scum. Most backers of the IRA were the plastic type who no longer live there - most notably the ones from the US (Boston strangely enough). They have no understanding of the matter of these islands except for some old propaganda that's been handed down to them.

Oh I'm very well educated on the matter thanks for asking.

If you want to talk about murderous scum the British and their Governments and Royalty are the biggest group of murderous racist scum that ever walked the planet.

I'll see your Warrington and raise you 800 years of state sanctioned genocide of a people. You obviously know jack s**t as your knowledge seems to be at a level of pro-brit sycophantic drivel.

The backers weren't "plastic type" you plonker. They were the descendants of the communities displaced by racist policies that displaced great numbers of indigenous Irish from their lands. People like John Boyle O'Reilly who started the Boston Pilot newspaper. He was one of 6 political prisoners that escaped from Fremantle Jail in the Catalpa rescue in 1876 and fled to the USA where they were part of the groups of people who started the US based support organizations to support the Irish struggles.

It's like you're so clueless you don't know anything about the Irish diaspora and how it impacted those peoples lives and how through oral traditions many never let their families forget what was done too them.

As for the Palestinians, the Israelis have tried time and time again to make peace with them, and help the Palestinian people become sustainable. After all it's in their own interests to do this. The Palestinians do not want to know though and would rather live in the s**t hole they do so they can keep this war with Israel going. It obviously speaks to your liberal mind that these poor "oppressed" people are the victims. It's complete bollocks though, and I suggest you do a little more reading away from the left wing media to gain a fuller perspective.

My liberal mind? That hilarious.

This is the first time I've ever been called left wing in my life. I guess in your myopic mind the only people who would show some support for the Palestinians would have to have left wing tendencies.

A fair clue as to how underdeveloped your thought process is.

 

[Bomberboyokay]

It absolutely is fair when the intent of the club is to bait the opposition.

No, the intent was to support Palestinians living under brutal oppression and remind people watching on TV everywhere that it's happening.

 

[Zidane98]

No, the intent was to support Palestinians living under brutal oppression and remind people watching on TV everywhere that it's happening.

There's two sides to that story and what you are claiming is coloured by your agenda. Once again the football field is not the place to push that agenda - why is that so difficult to understand?

Would you have approved Australian Football fans attending the Jordan v Palestine Asian Cup match waving Israel flags in support of Israel? I reckon you would have been outraged and the first person to complain.

 

[Bomberboyokay]

There's two sides to that story

No, this isn't an opinion. Israel occupying most of the State of Palestine isn't an opinion. It's a fact.

 

[Zidane98]

No, this isn't an opinion. Israel occupying most of the State of Palestine isn't an opinion. It's a fact.

Yes it is an opinion. Such discussions have no place on the football field and there are entire threads to discuss the Israel - Palestine dispute.

 

[Bomberboyokay]

Why Celtic fans were right to fly the Palestine flag

By Jamie Casey

SOMETIMES, mixing sport and politics can produce a constructive cocktail that tastes of enlightenment.

When the line ‘sports and politics don’t mix’ is used to denounce an act of solidarity at a sporting event, it’s often worth looking at the bigger picture before brushing it to one side.

This week, Celtic qualified for the Champions League group stages for the first time in three years with a 5-4 aggregate win over Hapoel Be’er Sheva of Israel, a hugely significant achievement for the club both financially and in the interests of their fan-base.

But it is those supporters who deserve more acclaim than the players (who scraped past a poor team by the skin of their teeth) for diverting attention away from the biggest tie of their season and on to people with much greater needs than their own.

During their home tie in the two-legged play-off on August 17, Celtic fans – led by the Green Brigade supporters’ group – displayed an array of Palestine flags before their Israeli opponents.

This exhibition of fan power was not designed to antagonise the Israeli players or fans in attendance, but to show their support for the oppressed people of Palestine and, more importantly, court the type of media attention that has duly ensued.

A UEFA rule forbids ‘gestures, words, objects or any other means to transmit any message that is not fit for a sports event, particularly messages that are of a political, ideological, religious, offensive or provocative nature’.

UEFA immediately began disciplinary proceedings for what they deem a regulation infringement, and so the snowball effect began.

First came the reports of an impending fine for the club, which prompted the Green Brigade to set up a GoFundMe account with the social media hashtag of #MatchTheFineForPalestine so fans could raise the same figure Celtic are expected to incur when the case is heard on September 22.

Not to cover the cost of the fine (UEFA wouldn’t allow fans to pay off a club’s debt) but to, in the Green Brigade’s own words, “make a positive contribution”.

The money raised will be split equally between Medical Aid Palestine (MAP), a UK-based charity which delivers health and medical care to Palestinians worst affected by conflict, and the Lajee Centre, a Palestinian cultural centre in Aida Refugee Camp on the outskirts of Bethlehem.

Two years since the outbreak of a conflict that has cost the lives of around 1,500 civilians, including 551 children, much of Gaza – a small Palestinian territory on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea – remains in ruins, according to the Association of International Development Agencies.

Entire neighbourhoods remain cut off from water supplies, destroyed hospitals and clinics have not yet been rebuilt, and tens of thousands remain without a home.

As a result of the war and the impact of the blockade imposed in 2007 by Israel, more than 75,000 Palestinians in Gaza still have no home to return to.

The impending fine for Celtic FC is expected to be in the region of £15,000, the GoFundMe account’s original target, but that figure has since been blown out of the water with over £140,000 now raised.

It’s still rising, but how have they attracted over 8,000 donations? Through extensive exposure in the mass media, something the Palestinian struggle rarely gets at the moment.

Literally millions of football fans use social media. The use of a catchy hashtag on Twitter and Facebook has caught the eye of a countless number of people worldwide, prompted thousands to research its meaning and, in turn, enlightened them of a problem that refuses to go away.

That enlightenment has led to donations from fans of clubs from all over the globe, moved by what they’ve been reading of Palestine’s forgotten plight.

A high-profile football match can be used to highlight the wrongs in the world, just as the Olympics were in 1968, or the Rumble in the Jungle in 1974.

It’s important to understand that Celtic’s protest was not anti-Israel, but pro-Palestine.

Of course, not all Celtic fans are on the same wavelength. Some detest the idea of racking up costs for their beloved club, while others feel uncomfortable with protests being brought inside the ground.

They make good arguments, but there’s no denying it’s the best way to maximise exposure, which is what this campaign has been all about.

As supporters of a club that was founded out of charity for victims of the Irish Famine who arrived in Glasgow, Celtic fans have a proud reputation for standing up for the oppressed in all aspects of life.

Celtic is more than just a football club. Muhammad Ali was more than just a boxer. Tommie Smith and John Carlos were more than just Olympic athletes.

Sport is more than just sport.

http://irishpost.co.uk/blog-why-celtic-fans-were-right-to-fly-the-palestine-flag/

 

[Zidane98]

Quoting the Irish Post. Really???

 

[Bomberboyokay]

Football and flags: Why Celtic fans back the Palestinian cause

Marc Patrick Conaghan

Celtic supporters are sympathetic to the Palestinian cause because their ancestral story is, for the most part, similar. To understand why Celtic fans are vocal about the struggle of the Palestinians, you need to understand where many Celtic fans come from.

The dispossession and hunger during the famine - which left more than one million dead - and the devastation on the land and psyche of the survivors forced a diaspora of Irish people all over the globe. Many settled in Glasgow, Scotland. The massive influx into the city of poor Irish people, fleeing due to dispossession of land, poverty or general necessity, was a huge burden on the residents.

But Victorian Glasgow was not tolerant of these interlopers, who they deemed to be racially, culturally and, by their Catholic faith, religiously inferior.

Celtic Football Club was formed in 1887 by Brother Walfrid, a Catholic cleric, in order to generate revenue to feed the Irish immigrants resident in Glasgow and relieve their poverty. Eventually it became a beacon of hope and source of pride to dispossessed people.

The flying of the Palestinian flag by Celtic fans in the European tie against Hapoel Beersheva last week has made headlines in newspapers and across social media. However, it is not a new phenomenon: Celtic fans fly Palestinian flags every week during games. Supporters have been showing solidarity with the people of Palestine for as long as I can remember: first it was badges, then it was kaffiyehs and now it's flags.

Celtic fans have also shown solidarity with the oppressed people of South Africa under apartheid, the Basque people seeking independence from Spain and, of course, due to the club's cultural heritage, the oppression and persecution of nationalists in the north of Ireland. The majority of these areas of conflict have been resolved amicably: the plight of the Palestinians has become increasingly worse.

By waving the Palestinian flag, Celtic fans were not choosing a side between Hamas and Fatah, or endorsing any of their political viewpoints. It was done to show solidarity with the people of Palestine.

Similarly, when the Green Brigade - a group of Celtic supporters - recently unveiled a banner stating “Refugees welcome, a club founded by immigrants,” they were not advocating a side in the Syrian conflict, but showing their backing for the plight of refugees.

Solidarity towards the dispossessed and oppressed is easy for the Celtic fan to understand and relate to and makes us sympathetic towards others suffering the same plight.

What Celtic fans don’t seem to understand is how others don’t get it. UEFA, and much of the media, miss the fact that Celtic fans are not anti-Israel and certainly not anti-Semitic. There is no group of supporters I know of who are less sympathetic to fascists and the extreme far-right.

In fact, it’s not uncommon for Celtic supporters to be targeted by far-right thugs on European trips for our anti-fascist/anti-Nazi views. History has shown that Celtic fans and Palestinians have few friends in the media.

When Celtic were paired with Israeli team Hapoel Beersheva in the Champions League tie, everyone knew there would be Palestinian flags on show. Everyone knew that UEFA would sidestep the real reason the flags were there and that the club would be fined.

[...]

The argument that UEFA has made - that there is no place for political expression or politics in football - would be hilarious if it wasn’t so ridiculous. Right now Celtic are in Beersheva, which is 20 miles from Gaza, which the Israeli military has bombed this week. How can you divorce football from the reality of people?

Football and political expression have been interwoven since people started kicking things that roll at each other. Throughout history, often the only place where people could congregate and voice a political opinion without fear of arrest and persecution was at a public stadium.

The flying of the Palestinian flag by Celtic fans is not a negative. It is not there to be waved in the face of the opposition as an attempt to upset and annoy others. It is done to remind the people of Palestine, wherever in the world they may be, that they are not alone and that they are not forgotten.

http://www.middleeasteye.net/column...-football-club-fans-hapoel-beersheva-97957668

 

[Zidane98]

You're not helping your cause quoting the Irish post who are obviously biased heavily in favour of Celtic.

 

[Mr_Bojangles]

Okay kids take this over to the politics thread perhaps.