"Celtic Football Club Fans Defy Board Backlash, Vow to Stand with Palestine" 

 The Green Unit ultras bunch approaches fans to 'raise the Palestinian banner' at Champions  Association match regardless of reaction from the club's board.

 Fanatics of Scotland's Celtic Football Club have promised to proceed with their presentation of fortitude with individuals of Palestine and "show the world that the club remains with the persecuted, not the oppressor" in that frame of mind of Israel's continuous assaults on the blockaded Gaza Strip and regardless of reaction from the club's board

 The Green Detachment, an ultras gathering of bad-to-the-bone Celtic fans, showed pennants saying "Free Palestine" and "Triumph to the obstruction!!" during the club's Scottish Prevalence match against

 The fans based at the North Bend part of Celtic Park spread out huge Palestinian banners before the opening shot and kept on waving them during their side's 3-1 win.

 Genuine upsides of the club

 The Green Brigade’s show of solidarity is “incredibly important to the Palestinian people, who are being bombarded and targeted”, according to Abdullah Al-Arian, associate professor of history at Georgetown University in Qatar.

 “By choosing to be on the side of justice for an oppressed population, these fans are representing the true values of the club and are more in-tune with the history of the club than the current board happens to be,” Al-Arian told Al Jazeera.

 Al-Arian said it is “becoming increasingly hard” to show support for the Palestinians in Western countries because some governments in Europe have banned protests against the Israeli attacks in Gaza and have threatened to ban the display of the Palestinian flag.

 Al-Arian, author of the book Football in the Middle East: State, Society, and the Beautiful Game, underlined the importance of using football stadiums to raise awareness in such cases because they are the last democratic spaces where people come together and express themselves in a way that cannot be censored, drowned out or criminalized the way that we see in the public discourse.

 Especially as we see the posture of the media and government as being one of silencing and intimidation of people who are simply standing up for human rights of the people of Palestine.

 “Football matches are viewed by millions around the world where people get to witness these acts of solidarity, and they help create a common bond for people who want to stand for justice for the people in Palestine.”

 According to the fan group, the board’s statement “is sadly in step with much of the political and media class”, and it questioned why similar political messaging was welcome at Celtic Park to show solidarity with Ukraine but is being condemned now.

 “The question on any reasonable mind should be why? Why are Ukrainian lives more sacred than Palestinian lives?” it said.

 Long association with Palestine

 Celtic fans have a history of supporting Palestinians and have raised funds for independent organizations working in the occupied territories.

 In 2019, the Aida Celtic football academy was opened at the Aida refugee camp in Bethlehem in the occupied West Bank with help of funds raised by the club’s fan base.

 The club has received widespread support in all Palestinian territories in recent years, and Al-Arian said the club’s backing of the Palestinian cause offered support to people “who are on the front line in a brutal assault on their lives”.

 “It tells Palestinians that people all over the world stand with them despite their respective governments taking immoral stances and turning a blind eye to the collective punishment and atrocities,” he said.

 Celtic’s fierce local rival Rangers have, in turn, supported Israel whenever both teams have met in the Old Firm – local derby – fixture over the years.

 The blue-and-white-kitted Glasgow club held a minute’s silence for the people killed in Israel ahead of their Premiership match last weekend.

 According to Al-Arian, the contrasting stances show that football is “never really separated from politics”.