The Daily Record have stooped to a new low after running with a story claiming that Liel Abada has no option but to leave the club due to the Green Brigade’s Palestine banners at the game against Kilmarnock last weekend. They even had the audacity to say he would be booed by the Green Brigade on his return. And the likes of their sister site Football Scotland and biggest rival Scottish Sun have also got on board the bandwagon with this anti-Celtic nonsense.
Whatever your own thoughts are on the Green Brigade, and plenty of supporters have been having their say over the past week, no-one has suggested that Liel Abada would ever be booed by the fans in the North Curve or indeed any Celtic supporters. It just would not happen.
Just when you think the Record can’t get any lower they do this. Their source? Some Israeli football pundit by the name of Avishai Sela. Who? You ask. Yes that’s a valid question, but unfortunately I can’t seem to get any information on the guy as when you google his name the only information available on him is from the article the Daily Record ran with. Funny that, eh?
While our support in general is sympathetic to the plight of the Palestinian people, they aren’t anti Israeli. Far from it. They are just against the regime of the Israeli government. We are a club open to all and don’t discriminate against anyone. We campaign for those most vulnerable in society.
Liel will never, and I can say that with the upmost confidence, be subjected to stick from Celtic supporters just because of his nationality. Nir Bitton played for Celtic for near on a decade and he was never subjected to anything like that from the Celtic support, not once. In fact he was a respected, popular player throughout his time in Glasgow and while Liel Abada has only been at the club for a few years he too is hugely popular with our support. Anyone saying differently is nothing but a trouble maker and a liar.
Liel has just signed a new deal and is happy here. He loves the club, and the club and supporters love him. The pundit the Record got to make these claims will have his own reason, hitting out at Celtic because of last week’s banners maybe. But he’s not the one playing football for a living. Liel Abada has just signed a lucrative new contract at Celtic and is not going to walk away from that for non-footballing reasons. If he gets the chance to sign for let’s say one of the top teams in England then of course he will want away and must of us will understand even at this stage that this will be his ambition.
Talk is cheap, the pundit got to stir up trouble for Celtic as a response to his views on last weekend’s banners from the Green Brigade. And the Daily Record was happy to oblige, and no doubt a sizeable percentage of their audience who like nothing better than a negative story about Celtic will have lapped it up. It’s anti-Celtic click-bait nonsense from a paper that specialises in that sort of stuff.
To to conclude, Liel Abada will always be popular among the Celtic support and rags like the Record on the other hand, well they shouldn’t be allowed over the door.
Just an Ordinary Bhoy
Both Ossie Ardiles and Ricky Villa (Argentinians) continued to play for Spurs during the Falklands conflict when the countries were in direct opposition and neither was booed by their fans, why would there be an issue with Abada?
I wouldn’t blame Liel for wanting to leave with these mindless morons in the Green Brigade backing terrorists. Celtic should show the green brigade the door permanently and back our player. Otherwise we are at the mercy of these idiots for ever if they decide to back another terrorist faction. The vacuum left in the stadium will soon be filled with decent supporters but the vacuum in their heads is permanent.
BBC I’ve seen running with it, you know our impartial national broadcaster 😂
Your words from above: Palestinian people, they aren’t anti Israeli. Far from it. They are just against the regime of the Israeli government.
WHAT??? “just against the regime”? a massacre of 1300 people, through shooting, stabbing, decapitating and burning (in a few hours) of mainly civilians: babies, small children, women and elderly people- does not stem from being against a regime. It must come from evil, barbaric hatred and disregard of human life and values.
SHAME ON YOU for your words. There is NO comparison between war and genocide.
And you have seen these bodies I take it
I was able to find Avishai Sela on Twitter now X. He looks like the love child of Mel B from the Spice Girls and Dustin Hoffman. @avishay_sela.
I’m not a member of the Green Brigade and I don’t agree with all their views or political expressions but I know for a fact that Celtic fans as a support in general are not anti-Semitic. Indeed our stadium borders a graveyard which contains bodies of a very high percentage of the Glasgow Jewish community back in the day, until it became full from what I seem to recall reading about previously. That graveyard being in such close proximity to the stadium was one of the reasons why Celtic Park became known as ‘Paradise’. An attack from Israel on Gaza Mosques etc on August 5th, triggered this reaction from Hama’s. The footage I’ve seen of the woman from the concert being abducted, assaulted, desecrated and killed by Hama’s soldiers was horrendous and abhorrent. This is why I would have preferred our Green Brigade to show some restraint in their general support for the Palestinians on that particular weekend. We should have acknowledged the deaths on the Israeli side that weekend instead but in this on-going struggle in the middle east, it’s the Israelis who are looking like the bullies and the death toll on both sides is not comparable. Year on year, many more innocent Palestinian’s are killed by Israeli’s than those pockets of Israelis killed by Hama’s and we are becoming more and more aware of what’s actually going on. They’re being forced to leave their homes, their water supplies are being destroyed and they’re being ill treated by the Israelis. The Israeli response to the concert and other attacks from that day, again was inevitable and they’ve used those attacks from Hama’s from that day to justify their violence rather than acknowledging that their 5th of August attacks brought it upon themselves. As a Celtic fan, I have sympathy with both sides and love Abada as a player and of course would like him to remain at the club.
… and yet we still get bombarded through sites like Celticnewsnow headlining and promoting these so called stories for mercenary clicks , lying to their very own for 30 pieces of silver ( or is it shit ) Judas’s , one and all !
Those Young kid has to realize its only a small percentage of supporters behind these banners and he is very much appreciated by the majority of the supports, I think if you wish to support some thing political take it to the street not inside a business, Celtic football club will be accused of supporting Hamas as you are not the people the banners claim to be supporting look at the picture’s of the baby’s that have been killed, there out there
As far as I know, both Liel Abada and Nir Bitton have taken some stick from Green Brigade members on social media for opposing those outrageous banners, so I’m not so sure that Liel will have the same feeling for the club and its fans in the aftermath of what this element of Marxist anarchists did.
Regardless of what happens with Abada though, the Celtic Board is going to have to eradicate these political activists from the Parkhead fanbase. These people are not interested in the sport, they are infiltrators using the platform of sport for nefarious purposes. There is no place for this in football. Celtic are already facing fines for previous offensive banners they’ve displayed, as well as the use of pyrotechnics, which are dangerous, so unless the Board takes the huge decision to disband this “Red Brigade”, the international reputation of Celtic will go down the toilet very quickly.
We need to see past the “Brigade” sophistry that it acts in interests of the downtrodden and persecuted. True Christian charity, upon which Celtic was founded, is neither political nor contentious. It seeks the good of all and it laments conflicts that result in death and suffering (on both sides). So let’s be clear, this is Marxist agitation by the “Brigade” thinly veiled with concern for the Palestinian people. It is contentious and divisive provocation that is not remotely Christian in origin and not remotely in the Catholic spirit of Brother Walfrid. Eyes need to be opened and action needs to be taken very quickly if Celtic is to maintain its true identity.
Great comment from Martin. Totally agree with everything he has said . I feel for everyone who has died on both sides . The green brigade has its good points match day singing and add a great atmosphere if only they could keep the politics and piro out . But they are not able to and do not care a jot about our club being fined and run thru the gutter by thaire actions . They do not represent almost all of our support . Brother Wilfred would be disgusted and ashamed with these morons . How can anyone with the slightest bit of humanity condone what hamas has done . And what isreal I’d doing now is just as disgusting blowing up innocents babies woman children families who are not in any way to blame for what the hamas evil has done . There has to be other ways to get the hamas terrorists other than completely anialaiting innocent people . As usual it’s them who suffer most . It’s now time for the board to grow a pair get rid of them for ever more they shame and bring our club to the dregs of the gutter. The club should listen to overwhelming majority and do the correct thing . I’m ashamed to be a celtic fan when they come out with all the political crap .
Can anybody anywhere give me an exact quote on this matter by Liel Abada ?
He is an exceptional pro : dedicated, talented, ambitious. I’d hate for him to have to leave over this.
The same Green Brigade who boycotted James Forrest’s testimonial. Boycotting a testimonial. Get your head round that.
GB are a sham.
They fly a red flag, just pretend that it’s green.
They will destroy Celtic as we know it unless stopped.
Yes,destroy.
ANY political banner inside CP should be banned & condition of ejection if breached.
Liel Abada is testament to the lie that Celtic is a club open to all. It’s not & never has been. It’s just a happy myth that the club peddle for the gullible.
Both Jewish Israeli players played at our club, while morons on the corner sang about “from the river to the sea”
For those unaware, this chant demands the complete destruction of Israel. From the Jordan to the Mediterranean. By implication Jews are under no illusions either about the next step.
The murder of Jews is part of that demand, just like we saw last week in Southern Israel.
Hamas terrorist sent our with lists of schools, youth clubs, ding halls & care homes, with instructions to kill all they could AND to bring back hostages. That is the psychotic mentality of Hamas, who’s Charter demands a Caliphate. Think Taliban & Isis combined.
You wonder why a rag suggests he will leave.
Fans forced him out, NOT the Record.
It’s only a minority, you say.
They’re just having some banter, you say.
There NEVER is any objection from other fans yo whatever filth the GB peddle.
There’s no booing of a GB banner, NO MATTER HOW GROSS & DISGUSTING.
There is never a suggestion that Israeli players are being singled out for hate, but they are.
Frankly, we are a club in decline.
If you can’t see that, then you’re drunk permanently.
The board have abdicated any real control over the club, the ground &:the fans.
The fans are supposed to be energetic, but they nap during games I think.
Oh they’re up for BIG games against our only serious domestic rivals & some UCL games.
Largely, it’s as dead as as a morgue.
Glasgow have fumbled their safety certification process at CP, several times. They should exert more control but local politics ensure that issues are sorted out behind the scenes.
Police Scotland are pointless. Those offensive banners should be taken down, but everyone laughs embarrassingly & pretends it’s in good fun.
Uefa are fed up dealing either Celtics inability to run their club with integrity & dignity.
Mugs like me fund the gross misconduct of the Red Brigade.
They are NOT Celtic fans, because they priotize THEIR politics as more important than the club.
Their own corner & tacit approval by the AWFUL board gives them a platform & status that feeds their egos & sense of power.
We are an occasional disgrace & a permanent embarrassment. To paraphrase Ian Archer.
I am a Jewish Celtic supporter living in Australia.
My dad is Glaswegian and we have a strong family history of supporting Celtic going back generations to the days when Jews and Catholics shared common living conditions.
When my son won a travel voucher aged 12, I asked him where he would go if he could go anywhere in the world. He chose Celtic Park to watch the Hoops in action at home, so off we went.
For years I have ignored the GB as being agitating ignorant fans and not let them get to me.
But it is the attitude of the club to tolerate the GB’s celebration of the murder and mutilation of innocent civilians in Israel that takes things too far. The club’s official statement was weak.
My father and brother have now said that they turn their backs on the club – what a shame. I don’t have the heart to do the same but I am deeply hurt.