Shino Zoertz, the chairman of the Israel FA, has asserted that Celtic’s recent penalty from UEFA was a direct result of their formal complaint. Last month, Celtic faced a £15,200 fine from UEFA after their supporters displayed Palestinian flags at their Champions League game against Atletico Madrid in October.
The European football authority labeled the flags as ‘provocative messages of an offensive nature’ at that time. The fine doesn’t get into the specifics and does not say whether the mere sight of Palestine flags was enough for the fine.
The Israeli football officials have admitted to lodging a direct protest with UEFA regarding the banners.
Zoertz stated to SunSport: “The chairman of the Palestinian FA, Jibril Rajoub, made a comment in October justifying the massacre. I believe his words were sickening, but I only see the point of complaining if he would be sanctioned and I thought he might not be.
“He would have come out stronger because of that, so we chose not to do anything. But we did file a complaint against Celtic and it was actually accepted and the club were punished.”
Celtic should come out and call out Israeli FC for their shocking comments about the club. Fans have a right to voice their opinions and politics has been part of football and UEFA has indulged in it plenty of times over the years.
The hypocrisy and the double standards from UEFA governing body is breathtaking but nothing compares to the trauma and destruction going on in Gaza and the need for action.
