North Curve Celtic had intended that the Palestinian flag will be on display in Celtic Park tonight. St Johnstone travel to Paradise and with no fans in the ground, it will likely be a low-key affair on the pitch even if the game has the backdrop of Scott Brown’s last home game. However, the club have moved to remove the displays and have issued a statement telling supporters that the attempted display has been taken down.
In a statement on the club website, the club said that the intended display of supporters’ banners for Scott Brown had been hijacked by a small group of supporters.
“We had invited supporters to pay tribute to our Club captain, Scott Brown, by giving them the opportunity to display their own banners in the stadium.
“Unfortunately a small group, which was given access in good faith, has attempted to exploit this opportunity, taken advantage of an occasion intended for our Club captain, Scott Brown, and used it for a different purpose.
“Clearly this is unacceptable and the display was immediately taken down by the Club.”
The North Curve is flying the flag for Palestine at tonight's Celtic game pic.twitter.com/Rxmv0Jqo7J
— North Curve Celtic (@NCCeltic) May 12, 2021
The Celtic support have actively stood with the people of Palestine in the past, raising funds after a UEFA fine in the game against Hapoel Be’er Sheva in 2016.
The club are likely looking to avoid controversy, even if standing in unity appears to be the right thing to do. They will instead hope that the ground if filled with banners for Brown instead of the flag of Palestine. Maybe if the club had shown the same fight on the park this season, we wouldn’t be going into the final two games of the season with nothing to play for and nothing gained.
