It was perhaps a score draw in more ways than one at Celtic Park on Wednesday night. On the park Celtic, under the combined efforts of first Ange Postecoglou and now Brendan Rodgers, are beginning to re-establish the club as a top tier team in European football.
The two goals Celtic scored and that incredible first 50 minutes of football before the interval was as good as any Celtic side has played in the modern era against a top level Champions League opponent.
Work remains to be done in the transfer market, Celtic have no viable alternative at left-back to Greg Taylor and are in need of another striker. Reo Hatate’s ongoing injury problems are a concern but at least we have options in the middle of the park. If Kyogo picks up an injury we appear to be well short and given we have such a large squad, the lack of strikers is pretty remarkable really.
The former Celtic striker Chris Sutton – who played alongside Henrik Larsson and John Hartson – said after the game that he misses Giorgos Giakoumakis and you will see his point. Oh hasn’t done it this season coming off the bench and he’s unlikely to get a chance unless Kyogo is unfit or perhaps needs a rest at Easter Road.
ICYMI: 🙆♂️ @Kyogo_Furuhashi‘s goal against Atletico is up for @ChampionsLeague Goal of the Week!
🗳️ Make sure to vote for #KYOGOAL below, Celts! 🙌💚@CelticFCJPN | #UCL | #COYBIG🍀
— Celtic Football Club (@CelticFC) October 27, 2023
From the summer signings Luis Palma and Paulo Bernardo (on loan from Benfica) look like first team ready quality additions but there is no doubt that a few more are needed to allow us to secure our place as a competitive team at the elite level in club football.
Off the park there was plenty of reasons for both the Green Brigade and the Celtic Board to be satisfied with the way things played out. During the week The Celtic Star called for the Green Brigade to stick to their flag show of support for the people of Palestine and not to go further with banners and on the separate issue with UEFA – pyrotechnics.
That’s how it played out with the only noticeable pyrotechnics coming from the Atletico supporters. That’s the Madrid club’s problem though.
The Green Brigade played their hand cleverly on Wednesday night and the flag display during You’ll Never Walk Alone was certainly extra special, with once again a mainstream media broadcaster, this time TNT Sports – as happened at Tynecastle at the weekend with Sky Sports and the BBC (no surprise there) – doing their best NOT to show the Palestine flag display. Yet enough Celtic supporters around the stadium filmed the poignant scenes on their mobiles and the images became widely available around the world and no doubt will have been greatly appreciated by the besieged Palestinian people who watched it.
The Celtic Board can be reasonably satisfied too. They made a HUGE donation this week to the Red Cross appeal regarding the humanitarian aid required for Palestine due to this crisis and they were seen to have done everything in their power to prevent any actions from supporters that may incur the wrath of UEFA, who themselves were advertising a Peace in Ukraine message around the stadium, a point that is available to the Celtic Board to mention ahead of any UEFA decision to get involved in looking at sanctions for Celtic relating to that Green Brigade flag display.
UEFA would be best advised to move on, on the basis that not even they can have their cake and eat it when it comes to bringing in or keeping out politics in football when it suits.
Their usual nice little earner from Celtic for pyrotechnic displays is also a non starter this time and that’s what we feared would have been used to justify a partial closer of a section of Celtic Park – presumably the North Curve – for the game against Feyenoord.
One of the best summaries of the back story behind what is happening in the Holy Land at the moment came from a Tory Baroness on Question Time last night and that would have been an uncomfortable listen for those supporting the Israeli Government and sitting on their hands while innocent people are being killed. Have a listen.
This is explosive and comes from a Tory Baroness.
Have a listen. pic.twitter.com/6q6aA6DhyT
— Tory Fibs (@ToryFibs) October 27, 2023
Now The Green Brigade and Celtic need to get together to discuss the separate issues surrounding unacceptable behaviour that is currently preventing the Ultras group from attending away matches. And it’s also worth mentioning that the method of ticket distribution by the club perhaps should be reviewed given the changing landscape of Scottish football in terms of clubs doing as much as possible to reduce or withdraw Celtic’s allocation of tickets for away matches for our support.
Hearts last week was a case in point where once again empty seats were preferred to paying punters and if they reckoned that they’d gain an advantage on the pitch as a result, they were way off the mark with that one.
Hearts halved our allocation previously then halved it again so logically three quarters of the expected away support never got a ticket for Tynecastle. Surely there is merit is sharing the away allocation among supporters rather than the same folk getting tickets every time? It’s at least worth a discussion.
Celtic took a major huff with The Celtic Star a few seasons ago when we complained about the allocation of tickets at Celtic Park after lockdown when there were limited number of supporters allowed to attend the first handful of games and some season ticket holders got tickets for the first two games while others got none.
As soon as this issue is mentioned vested interests take over but while the current system may well be the best option and should remain or other ideas should be looked at, it is at least not beyond having a debate and how away tickets are distributed.
Tremendous effort by the Green Brigade & wider Celtic support, waving thousands of Palestinian flags in protest at the genocidal onslaught by Israel on Gaza, during tonight’s game against Atletico Madrid
Celtic stands with Palestine – despite the best efforts Lawwell & the Board pic.twitter.com/TdZ6kiLzNs
— The Fast Lovin’ Sin-Soaked Heathen (@fast_sin) October 26, 2023
VIDEO | “People of Palestine, you’ll never walk alone”
(#Celtic – https://t.co/3XAly8jdqg / 25.10.2023) #FreePalestine #GreenBrigade pic.twitter.com/tP8vepSRWg
— Antifa_Ultras (@ultras_antifaa) October 25, 2023
There was one problem behind the Athletico goal at the start of the match.
As for UEFA we will be fined for the Palestinflags for two reasons:
1. They set a precedent for it a few years ago when we flew them against an Israeli team and for them not to do it now would open the flood gates for any team whose fans have protests.
2. It’s a tremendous earner for UEFA. The more they can claw back money in fines it is ultimately less they need to pay out. They will soon be fining clubs for their players damaging grass.
CELTIC F.C 1888 was born to help the Irish Imagrantes from starving through to no welfare in scotland and maybe hate of colonial britain this is a uefa law tokeep out of politics but the law is for all members of eufa not just the smaller but the leagues but our Celtic supporters must relise if Celtic F.C.1888 is to stay uefa competition we must respect there rules on and off the pitch as our protest by some if our supporters is filling the eufa money box they must find another way that does not allow uefa to find our club we are supporters of our club when we go to Celtic park do that organize a march to scottish parliment im sure tou will get protest will upset SMP lives waving palistening flags or flares wont bother them go to where the hide that will really hurt them instead of the club you love dint force biard to ban a great atmosphere tge green brigade do so much good not wrote ir spoken abiut by our so called media anti you know what its nit all the green brigade maybe a third there were flags all round Celtic park there faces are there to see so stop or forget going next season if i had a choice going to Celtic park still excites me when i wake up on the day till i get there im 66years old and its still the same and im sure if i lost my season book not worth thinking of remeber the season without fans non season so please dont even risk it cause you dont it will happen thets for sure Celtic board eufa have giving them no option
Thank you for putting up this video, i didn’t see it as don’t watch brit fake news….and Netanyahu/USA ‘s imperialism stretches much further, with the repeated bombing of Syria by both parties on a daily basis, the ongoing planning with Israel, Turkey and Azerbaijan for the invasion of the rest of Armenia and genocide of Armenians, openly voiced by a Turkish cabinet minister threatening to complete what they started in 2015 whilst Israel are loading the Azuris with daily shipments of weapons, coupled with their behind the scenes creation of the concentration camp “Nagorno Karabakh”, prior to the Azuri invasion. Yes the Tory woman is right, this is a lot deeper than most people know. Azerbaijan is selling oil to the west, some of it coming from Russia and only this week pulled the plug on meeting the EU. I hope that Celtic supporters continue their stance on Palestine, but learn the full depth of the issues at stake here. Again, I am glad you pointed out the UEFA hypocrisy, but sadly, the Celtic boards actions are actually in keeping with it, a token gift is no more than that whilst they maintain their Israeli business interests. As for Celtic, they will always come good ! If you know your history, de de de,
Apologies for misprint. CORRECTION ! Turkish minister referred to 1915 ?? during WW1
“Yet enough Celtic supporters around the stadium filmed the poignant scenes on their mobiles and the images became widely available around the world and no doubt will have bene greatly appreciated by the besieged Palestinian people who watched it”
Are you serious? It’s a humanitarian crisis. Do you really think Palestinians are tuning in to watch Celtic v Atletico Madrid? You’re deluded. Won’t make any difference whatsoever. Virtue signalling at its best. Get down to the Israeli embassy and protest and let the rest of us enjoy the football without all your attention seeking.
Videos on social media are widely shared and go viral, many of the people affected are likely to have seen the show of support. No more deluded than you for thinking otherwise. Best guess on both of our parts. Also some of these videos have been picked up by international broadcasters.
https://www.aljazeera.com/sports/2023/10/26/celtic-vs-atletico-madrid-fans-palestine-support-flags-champions-league
Hasbara
The Palestinians who are being bombed and in fear for their very lives are not sitting watching videos of football fans on the news. Many are even without electricity so are conserving what power they’ve got.
The solution is a political one. Every football fan on the planet could wave a Palestine flag and it wouldn’t make a blind bit of difference. A show of support from Celtic fans won’t stop the bombs but it could eventually lead to parts of the ground being shut down.
After the ill-judged “Victory To The Resistance” banner, The Green Brigade had the opportunity to condemn the horrific actions of Hamas but chose not to. Instead they try to make it all about the board and picking a fight with them. The PFLP flag was another nail in their coffin. I think their days are over.
The solution to Hitler wasn’t political and it won’t be to this fascist regime either. Ostriches get killed in this hunt too ! I am sure you didn’t believe the Tory woman that Hamas belong to Herr Netanyahu ??? As Einstein said, It won’t be governments that destroy this planet, it will be people who do nothing. Clearly there are a lot of those “herd animals” in the Celtic support. Head down now and trot on, but remember that there always have been a minimum amount of people willing to stand up against the Hitlers of the world and their regimes and tough luck, football doesn’t get an exemption. Neither does anyones little security box, no apologies for genocide being stuck in yer face ! Football is a perfect platform for us to push ideas and for the ruling class to control the herd. Trot on.
Fucking scumbags. Israel has invaded. A horrible country a horrible people. Shame on the west for supporting them.
Oh..bye the way TAM, ( is it big tam or wee Tam? …… I can guess! ) If you have white phosphorous poured on you as is happening right this minute, you might not give a shit where people let others know its happening and think Fuck Celtic FC and “wee” Tam , what he thinks. So “wee” Tam, who gives a shit what you think. Keep sticking it in their faces Green Brigade et al ! and keep bHoycotting Israeli supporters such as McDonalds, Axa Insurance, Carrefour, Star Bucks etc. there is a list available from the Palestinian Solidarity Campaign and keep it a part of Celtic cos that’s who we really are, before the current custodians and “I’m a season ticket holder” brigade kudos seekers !