When the Celtic board is afraid to offend the Ibrox side, we’ve got serious problems. Why else would they block the GB’s Tifo for Sunday?
Eric Knott 
Craig Foy - SNS Group/SNS Group/Getty Images
As is customary for home games against the Ibrox side, the Green Brigade had a Tifo ready to go for Sunday’s Glasgow Derby at Celtic Park.
News has emerged early this afternoon that the Celtic board have blocked the Ultras group from using the Tifo they had planned for Sunday.
Since no explanation has been given as to why by our uber communicative board, we can only assume it was blocked because it might offend the delicate sensitivities of the Ibrox support?
Well, it’s either that or the board is grandstanding after their recent statement regarding the “Show Israel the Red Card” and Brendan “Bik” McFarlane banners.
Since they do not deign to give any explanations for their actions, we are left to speculate as to the reasons behind their decision making.
We discussed in depth the recent statement by the Celtic board regarding banners on the latest Trinity Tims podcast.
YouTube: Hampden Here We Come
Rest assured we’ll be discussing this subject again on our next show.
The Green Brigade has released a statement slamming the decision to block the Tifo.
It doesn’t say what the Tifo was about, as I’m sure they wanted to reveal it on Sunday, but it’s pretty damning in terms of the way it calls out the board.
Here it is in it’s entirety:
Unfortunately, there will be no traditional tifo in the north curve for Sunday’s derby following a refusal by the Celtic board.
Tifos are now customary for major fixtures and widely accepted to add to the occasion and atmosphere. It is therefore particularly disappointing to lose this when opposition fans will return to the derby in reasonable number for the first time in almost seven years, eager to make their mark.
Two recent fixtures are cited as justification for refusing the derby tifo, with appeasing loyalists and Zionists shamefully being put ahead of the interests of Celtic fans.
Last month, thousands of Celtic fans willingly participated in a tifo to “Show Israel the red card.” This launched a global campaign of almost 150 similar actions across 126 sports clubs from 31 countries and six continents.
All followed the example of Celtic: a football club held in the highest esteem for reasons beyond sport. Despite demonstrable proof of widescale support for Palestine across the fanbase, the Celtic board continues to sanction our group, and individuals, for this sentiment.
A couple of weeks later, we paid tribute to a friend and lifelong Celtic supporter in Bik McFarlane. Bik was a hero to many and is widely recognised as a pivotal part in bringing Ireland beyond armed struggle.
While the Celtic board shamelessly commodifies aspects of Irishness, including an earlier era of armed struggle, it sanctions our group for expressions which, again, carry broad demonstrable support.
Despite approaching our 20th season inside Celtic Park, we continue to face the same intransigence from a Celtic board unwilling to engage with fans and evolve alongside fan culture.
The manager recently correctly pointed to how clubs engage with supporters in other countries; until this happens, the same tedious cycles, distractions and disruptions will inevitably continue.
We urge Michael Nicholson and Chris McKay to revise the club’s entire fan strategy and to do so in consultation with fans.
One of the key take outs for me in that statement is relating to the way the “Show Israel the Red Card” campaign resulted in 126 other football clubs worldwide engaging with this.
The Celtic board are but a few men, if they were offended by this action, then maybe they shouldn’t be involved in a club like ours then?
As the GB quite rightly points out, they are quite happy to “shamelessly commodify” aspects of the club’s Irishness when it comes to making money out of it, but then they pick and choose what elements of the club’s Irishness the fans are allowed engage with, or what banners they’re allowed to create relating to it.
However, the below line from the statement is what stands out most to me:
Despite approaching our 20th season inside Celtic Park, we continue to face the same intransigence from a Celtic board unwilling to engage with fans and evolve alongside fan culture.
The board’s refusal to engage with fans, and the vague language in their recent statement, shows almost an element of cowardice on their behalf.
As we said on our recent podcast, if they had something to say about the banners, why didn’t they actually say it?
And by that, I mean why didn’t they say which banners offended them, why they offended them, and what their response to these banners might be?
In other words, tackle the issue head on, instead of skirting it.
Which is exactly what they’ve done.
They couldn’t namecheck the banners and say that they offended them because that would mean they were distancing themselves from our Irishness firstly, and secondly, that they found that “Showing Israel the Red Card” was unpalatable or offensive to them.
They are blocking the planned Tifo for Sunday for one of two reasons.
Either they do not want to offend the Ibrox side, or they are following through on their recent statement relating to the banners.
If it’s the former point, I can only assume it’s a celebration of our Irishness that the Ibrox side and their ilk will find offensive.
And if that’s the case, they are total hypocrites, and gutless to boot.
If it’s the latter, then put simply, they need to explain themselves.
But, as we’re all aware, they won’t.
They never do.
If what I’m saying is offensive to them, then if they actually explained their motives, I wouldn’t be forced to speculate.
You know they won’t.
But I’ll say one thing, the Green Brigade are spot on when they say they need to revise their entire fan strategy.
If they even have one, that is.
As far as I can see, there isn’t one.
Simply because they never engage with us.
Will that happen any time soon?
I won’t hold my breath.
You ain’t Fans or Supporters. In the Celtic Board’s mind you are simply repeat Customers with an attachment to the Brand. They know that for every Celtic Fan that turns it’s back on the Club as an expression of their dissatisfaction with the Board and its Policies that there are at least a dozen or twenty applicants waiting in line.
They don’t give a fuck.
You’ve hit the nail on the head our board have no interest in us .THE FANS all they want is our money and hope we sit on our hands and don’t make a fuss, they want all the credit for all the wonderful work the GB has done but it does not wish annoy Scotlands second best team on there return to Celtic park . I wonder if they’ll change there mind on Monday morning when they visit the disaster scene of the rangers end after we beat on the park and they destroy our stadium .PL runs the show it’s his baby regardless of what we want-Masonic runt.
Hopefully the GB release a picture and we see ourselves what the Tifo was to be about and then request the board (LAWWELL) answer why it was banned, well I won’t be holding my breath but I wish
lawwell and his puppet Nicholson would indefinitely.
Eric since this board came in in the early 2000’s they haven’t had a strategy for where they want the club to go much less the supporters. As the other two replies have said we’re just a cash cow to that board, they don’t give a fcuk about anything other than our money. Look at the prices they’re charging for the new Adidas line £90 for top and trousers and £130 for a bomber jacket that if it didn’t have the Celtic name on it would be £50 tops in a normal store. I wrote to them on this and got the usual pish that their merchandise is competitively priced which is absolute bollocks they’re ripping us off. Before anyone says I don’t have to buy the merchandise, I know that, that’s not my point it’s pricing the least well off support out of the market. The Green Brigade aren’t everyone’s cup of tea I’m sure they know that but these tifo’s definitely add to the match day experience and I for one love their stance on Palestine and Bik McFarlane and whether the board like it or not politics is part of every country’s and supporter’s lives. At Celtic we’ve always been a political club our aim at the outset was to feed the poor and impoverished you can’t get anymore political than that, the UK government weren’t doing it so someone had to and whether our board like it or not that’s the simple fact of the matter, you can pick and choose your politics you’re either all in or out altogether and thankfully our support take the altruistic approach and the right one as well.
That should’ve said you can’t choose your politics in my reply.
Spot on guys. I buy my hubby every Celtic top. I pre-order them, and this year he said no to a £90 Adidas t shirt, cos let’s face it, that’s all it is. As for the bannet, I hope the green brigade stand outside Parkhead with it, and give them something to think about. Everything is being eroded, our freedom of speech, what little we have, is being taken from us. The board are getting all their money for ripping us, the poor fans off. I also agree, they will take the plaudits, for the GBs great work. It’s sickening. Don’t offend the team, who shouts no one likes us, but we don’t care. Truly shocking behaviour by the board
The board are just patsies. The other institutional investor groups along with the moustache are all in the big club.. What club is that?…
The big zio club.
Every corporation is run by them.
You cannot say anything negative or state facts about the genocide. People are getting kicked out of the USA for saying this.
The top brass are laying on the board to censor the occupiers genocide.
The Palestine flag will be the next thing to be banned from paradise.
Email to Celtic, in response to their latest’statement’:
As the latest statement seems to be deliberately vague on which issues it is addressing, and even more so on whose name the statement was made in, us supporters have been left to draw our own conclusions.
It seems to me and to most people I see commenting, that it is in relation to support for Palestinians, and more accurately a banner or banners against Israel. Celtic attempt to hide behind the diversity of our supporters, and to be saying it’s about politics. This issue is not about politics, it’s about genocide and about crimes against humanity. These issues have been verified by the UN, and the crimes verified by both the UN and many independent human rights groups, and the fact that our politicians and media are covering this up, is not only a disgrace, but in contravention of International and human rights law.
As the Nuremberg trials made plain, it is every single citizens duty to stand against these actions, irrelevant of creed or colour, and to not do so, is to condone them. Not only that the trials made plain, that it doesn’t matter what orders you operated under, you either refuse these orders, or you are equally guilty of the crimes. So for Celtic to say the supporters, shareholders or sponsors made them do it, or that they were doing it on their behalf just doesn’t wash. For Celtic and their directors to stand against and quash the actions of people fighting these crimes, then they become complicit in the crimes themselves.
No excuses no get outs, under international law, Crimes Against Humanity.
So for one month try and impose a ban on merchandise sales. Protest at the superstores.
Ban a Tifo but spend lots of cash adding netting and other security to welcome back a horrendous racist songbook that children at the game will be exposed to. But that is the football experience in Scotland. Well done again to the silent and cowardly board. It really is time the fans took some action that his their beloved bank balance!!!
What a surprise! A pro-zionist Corporate group, supporting Genocide, mass destruction and war cries . Who would have thought ? …again.
The board are an absolute bloody disgrace, 70 million quid in the bank and they give themselves a pat on the back, Ive got no faith in them strengthening the squad
,regarding the new tops, last year I took both my grandsons from Australia bought about $500 of gear apart from one piece the rest is cheap crap that you pay a premium for