The Green Brigade once again made a bold statement during Celtic’s Champions League clash against Bayern Munich at Celtic Park on Wednesday night, with a clear message to UEFA and FIFA.
As the teams emerged for the second half, a large banner was unfurled reading: “Show Israel the Red Card”, while hundreds of fans raised red cards in unison. The protest was part of a global call for football’s governing bodies to suspend Israel from international and club competitions due to its ongoing actions in Palestine.
Before kick-off, flyers were distributed among supporters, explaining the motivation behind the planned demonstration. The leaflet urged fans to take part in the protest, aiming to put pressure on UEFA to apply its own rules consistently.
The flyer stated: “At the start of the 2nd half, please SHOW ‘ISRAEL’ THE RED CARD to send a direct message to UEFA and FIFA to apply their respective statutes and suspend ‘Israel’ from competition.
“By doing so, you will not only be doing the right thing but you will be joining football fans of conscience and courage around the worlds who will be adopting the same message. “Israel is committing genocide and ethnic cleansing; it is practicing an aparthied; and it is illegally occupying Palestinian territory. All of this is a breach of international law.
“In 15 months, Israel has murdered at least 382 Palestinian footballers and at least 235 other sport people. Of those numbers at least 96 are children and 286 are youths. Israel has destroyed 147 football facilities and 140 sport facilities across all of Palestine. Israel has prevented football and other sports from being played across all of Palestine.
“These crimes have no place in our beautiful game.”
There have been blatant double standards when it comes to UEFA taking action and banning authorities from football. Russia was swiftly banned from international football following its invasion of Ukraine, while Israel continues to compete despite allegations of war crimes and human rights abuses.
The ICC have issued arrest warrant for Benjamin Netanyahu and former defence minister Yoav Gallant. [BBC]
Israel was admitted to UEFA in 1994, despite not being part of Europe.
Russia isn’t the only nation to receive a ban, FIFA banned apartheid South Africa, and the same principles should be applied now. [The Nation]
UEFA has a long-standing ban on political messaging at football matches, and Celtic have been punished multiple times for displays in solidarity with Palestine. The Green Brigade has been vocal in its support of the Palestinian cause for years, with similar actions during past European fixtures resulting in hefty fines.
But the group have been, and remain, on the right side of history.
