RSS
Scotland’s Celtic FC Could Be Fined by European Governing Body of Soccer After Fans Unveil Anti-Israel Banner
Celtic FC fans raising an anti-Israel banner at a Celtic FC vs. Bayern Munich match on Feb. 12, 2025 in Celtic Park. Photo: Screenshot
Scotland’s Celtic Football Club could potentially face a fine from the UEFA, Europe’s governing body of soccer, after its fans displayed a massive anti-Israel banner during the first leg of a Champions League knockout phase play-off on Wednesday night.
While the Scottish team competed against Bayern Munich on the field at Celtic Park in Glasgow, Celtic FC’s ultra-fan group Green Brigade organized in the stands a giant tifo display that said “Show ‘Israel’ The Red Card,” which calls on the UEFA and FIFA to suspend Israel from all soccer competitions. The word “Israel” was notably in quotation marks on the banner, and the letters were designed to look like they were dripping in blood. The display was unveiled at halftime and was raised by the Celtic fans throughout the game’s second half. A Palestinian flag was also waved in the stands.
In the seats below the banner, members of the Green Brigade held up red sheets of paper that said the same message as the banner. In another message printed on the red papers, Green Brigade accused Israel of genocide, ethnic cleansing, and apartheid in its treatment of Palestinians. “‘Israel’ is committing genocide and ethnic cleansing; it is practicing apartheid; and it is illegally occupying Palestinian territory,” the sign read, before making a series of false accusations about Israel murdering Palestinian soccer players and preventing soccer “and other sports from being played across all of Palestine.”
“These crimes have no place in our beautiful game,” the message read. It was signed by the Green Brigade. The Celtics ultimately lost the game to Bayern Munich 2-1.
Celtic FC has faced numerous fines in the past from the UEFA because of its fans. It was fined when fans threw a smoke bomb on the pitch in January and after fans displayed “provocative messages of an offensive nature” during a Champions League match against Atletico Madrid last season. It received fines related to anti-monarchy banners raised by fans during two separate matches in 2022, and has also been fined when fans threw objects on the field, displayed Palestinian flags when the team competed against the Israeli team Hapoel Beer Sheva. They have been additionally penalized by the UEFA for “illicit banners,” such as one in 2019 that depicted former Italian leader Benito Mussolini hanging upside down.
Before the start of Wednesday’s game, the Green Brigade released a statement, asking Celtic fans to arrive early to help organize participation for a tifo that would “set the tone for what could be a memorable and historic night at Celtic Park.”
“We kindly ask those in the north curve area of the stadium to arrive at their seats early in advance as the success of the tifo depends on your participation,” the group said. “The entire Celtic support has a huge part to play before and during the match tonight. It is important we get behind the team from first whistle to last, whilst making it as uncomfortable and unpleasant as possible for our rivals.”
The Green Brigade was formed in 2006, and according to its website, the group has “always maintained a left-leaning reputation: racism and discrimination would not be tolerated and you’d often see shows of solidarity with causes from Ireland to Palestine.” The group added on its website that its ethos has not always been in line with that of the Celtic FC: “The Group’s clearly stubborn and somewhat militant nature, coupled with its unashamedly political aspect would cause conflict with the Club and other authorities. Such problems still exist to this day.” The Green Brigade internationally supports a Palestinian soccer academy from the Aida Refugee Camp in the West Bank.
Israeli forward Liel Abada left Celtic FC last year, even though he had two years left to his contract. At the time, he did not explain his exact reason for leaving the Glasgow team, but said leaving Celtic “wasn’t in my plans” and that he had a “very, very difficult time in Scotland.” It was reported that he faced pressure from Israelis to stop playing for the Celtics because its fans regularly raise banners that read “Free Palestine” and “Victory to the resistance.”
The post Scotland’s Celtic FC Could Be Fined by European Governing Body of Soccer After Fans Unveil Anti-Israel Banner first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
RSS
After False Dawns, Gazans Hope Trump Will Force End to Two-Year-Old War
Palestinians walk past a residential building destroyed in previous Israeli strikes, after Hamas agreed to release hostages and accept some other terms in a US plan to end the war, in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
Exhausted Palestinians in Gaza clung to hopes on Saturday that US President Donald Trump would keep up pressure on Israel to end a two-year-old war that has killed tens of thousands and displaced the entire population of more than two million.
Hamas’ declaration that it was ready to hand over hostages and accept some terms of Trump’s plan to end the conflict while calling for more talks on several key issues was greeted with relief in the enclave, where most homes are now in ruins.
“It’s happy news, it saves those who are still alive,” said 32-year-old Saoud Qarneyta, reacting to Hamas’ response and Trump’s intervention. “This is enough. Houses have been damaged, everything has been damaged, what is left? Nothing.”
GAZAN RESIDENT HOPES ‘WE WILL BE DONE WITH WARS’
Ismail Zayda, 40, a father of three, displaced from a suburb in northern Gaza City where Israel launched a full-scale ground operation last month, said: “We want President Trump to keep pushing for an end to the war, if this chance is lost, it means that Gaza City will be destroyed by Israel and we might not survive.
“Enough, two years of bombardment, death and starvation. Enough,” he told Reuters on a social media chat.
“God willing this will be the last war. We will hopefully be done with the wars,” said 59-year-old Ali Ahmad, speaking in one of the tented camps where most Palestinians now live.
“We urge all sides not to backtrack. Every day of delay costs lives in Gaza, it is not just time wasted, lives get wasted too,” said Tamer Al-Burai, a Gaza City businessman displaced with members of his family in central Gaza Strip.
After two previous ceasefires — one near the start of the war and another earlier this year — lasted only a few weeks, he said; “I am very optimistic this time, maybe Trump’s seeking to be remembered as a man of peace, will bring us real peace this time.”
RESIDENT WORRIES THAT NETANYAHU WILL ‘SABOTAGE’ DEAL
Some voiced hopes of returning to their homes, but the Israeli military issued a fresh warning to Gazans on Saturday to stay out of Gaza City, describing it as a “dangerous combat zone.”
Gazans have faced previous false dawns during the past two years, when Trump and others declared at several points during on-off negotiations between Hamas, Israel and Arab and US mediators that a deal was close, only for war to rage on.
“Will it happen? Can we trust Trump? Maybe we trust Trump, but will Netanyahu abide this time? He has always sabotaged everything and continued the war. I hope he ends it now,” said Aya, 31, who was displaced with her family to Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.
She added: “Maybe there is a chance the war ends at October 7, two years after it began.”
RSS
Mass Rally in Rome on Fourth Day of Italy’s Pro-Palestinian Protests
A Pro-Palestinian demonstrator waves a Palestinian flag during a national protest for Gaza in Rome, Italy, October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Claudia Greco
Large crowds assembled in central Rome on Saturday for the fourth straight day of protests in Italy since Israel intercepted an international flotilla trying to deliver aid to Gaza, and detained its activists.
People holding banners and Palestinian flags, chanting “Free Palestine” and other slogans, filed past the Colosseum, taking part in a march that organizers hoped would attract at least 1 million people.
“I’m here with a lot of other friends because I think it is important for us all to mobilize individually,” Francesco Galtieri, a 65-year-old musician from Rome, said. “If we don’t all mobilize, then nothing will change.”
Since Israel started blocking the flotilla late on Wednesday, protests have sprung up across Europe and in other parts of the world, but in Italy they have been a daily occurrence, in multiple cities.
On Friday, unions called a general strike in support of the flotilla, with demonstrations across the country that attracted more than 2 million, according to organizers. The interior ministry estimated attendance at around 400,000.
Italy’s right-wing government has been critical of the protests, with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni suggesting that people would skip work for Gaza just as an excuse for a longer weekend break.
On Saturday, Meloni blamed protesters for insulting graffiti that appeared on a statue of the late Pope John Paul II outside Rome’s main train station, where Pro-Palestinian groups have been holding a protest picket.
“They say they are taking to the streets for peace, but then they insult the memory of a man who was a true defender and builder of peace. A shameful act committed by people blinded by ideology,” she said in a statement.
Israel launched its Gaza offensive after Hamas terrorists staged a cross border attack on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 people hostage.
RSS
Hamas Says It Agrees to Release All Israeli Hostages Under Trump Gaza Plan
Smoke rises during an Israeli military operation in Gaza City, as seen from the central Gaza Strip, October 2, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
Hamas said on Friday it had agreed to release all Israeli hostages, alive or dead, under the terms of US President Donald Trump’s Gaza proposal, and signaled readiness to immediately enter mediated negotiations to discuss the details.