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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.
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Former Columbia University President Appointed as UK Economic Adviser
Columbia University administrators and faculty, led by President Minouche Shafik, testified before the US House Committee on Education and the Workforce on April 17, 2024. Photo: Jack Gruber/Reuters Connect
i24 News – British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has named Minouche Shafik, former president of Columbia University, as his chief economic adviser at Downing Street, a move aimed at stabilizing the country’s fragile economy and averting a potential budget crisis.
Shafik, an economist of Egyptian origin with dual British and American nationality, has held senior roles at the Bank of England, the IMF, and the World Bank.
She later led the London School of Economics and was elevated to the House of Lords in 2020.
Her tenure in the United States was more turbulent. Shafik stepped down as president of Columbia University in 2024 after just a year in office, amid fierce criticism over her handling of pro-Palestinian protests following the Hamas attacks of October 7, 2023, and the subsequent war in Gaza.
US officials accused her of failing to confront antisemitism on campus, while students and faculty condemned her decision to call in police to dismantle protest encampments.
Since returning to Britain, Shafik has played an active role in policy and cultural institutions. She advised Foreign Secretary David Lammy on international aid reform, has chaired the Victoria & Albert Museum since January, and led the “Economy 2030” inquiry for the Resolution Foundation, where she argued for reforms to the UK’s system of wealth taxation.
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Israel Mulls West Bank Annexation in Response to Moves to Recognize Palestine
The Jordan Valley. Photo: Юкатан via Wikimedia Commons.
Israel is considering annexation in the West Bank as a possible response to France and other countries recognizing a Palestinian state, according to three Israeli officials and the idea will be discussed further on Sunday, another official said.
Extension of Israeli sovereignty to the West Bank – de facto annexation of land captured in the 1967 Middle East war – was on the agenda for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s security cabinet meeting late on Sunday that is expected to focus on the Gaza war, a member of the small circle of ministers said.
It is unclear where precisely any such measure would be applied and when, whether only in Israeli settlements or some of them, or in specific areas of the West Bank like the Jordan Valley and whether any concrete steps, which would likely entail a lengthy legislative process, would follow discussions.
Any step toward annexation in the West Bank would likely draw widespread condemnation from the Palestinians, who seek the territory for a future state, as well as Arab and Western countries. It is unclear where US President Donald Trump stands on the matter. The White House and State Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
A spokesperson for Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar did not respond to a request for comment on whether Saar had discussed the move with his US counterpart Marco Rubio during his visit to Washington last week.
Netanyahu’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment on whether the prime minister supports annexation and if so, where.
A past pledge by Netanyahu to annex Jewish settlements and the Jordan Valley was scrapped in 2020 in favor of normalizing ties with the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain in the Abraham Accords brokered by Trump in his first term in office.
The office of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The United States said on Friday it would not allow Abbas to travel to New York for the United Nations gathering of world leaders, where several US allies are set to recognize Palestine as a state.
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Israel Pounds Gaza City Suburbs, Netanyahu to Convene Security Cabinet
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks to the press on Capitol Hill, Washington, DC, July 8, 2025. REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein
Israeli forces pounded the suburbs of Gaza City overnight from the air and ground, destroying homes and driving more families out of the area as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s security cabinet was set on Sunday to discuss a plan to seize the city.
Residents of Sheikh Radwan, one of the largest neighborhoods of Gaza City, said the territory had been under Israeli tank shelling and airstrikes throughout Saturday and on Sunday, forcing families to seek shelter in the western parts of the city.
The Israeli military has gradually escalated its operations around Gaza City over the past three weeks, and on Friday it ended temporary pauses in the area that had allowed for aid deliveries, designating it a “dangerous combat zone.”
“They are crawling into the heart of the city where hundreds of thousands are sheltering, from the east, north, and south, while bombing those areas from the air and ground to scare people to leave,” said Rezik Salah, a father of two, from Sheikh Radwan.
An Israeli official said Netanyahu’s security cabinet will convene on Sunday evening to discuss the next stages of the planned offensive to seize Gaza City, which he has described as Hamas’ last bastion.
A full-scale offensive is not expected to start for weeks. Israel says it wants to evacuate the civilian population before moving more ground forces in.
HAMAS SPOKESPERSON TARGETED
Netanyahu confirmed on Sunday that Israeli forces had targeted Abu Ubaida, the spokesperson of Hamas’ armed wing. Defense Minister Israel Katz said that Abu Ubaida was killed. Two Hamas officials contacted by Reuters did not respond to requests for comment.
Gaza health authorities said 15 people, including five children, were killed in the attack on a residential building in the heart of Gaza City.
Abu Ubaida, also known as Hozayfa Al-Khalout, is a well-known figure to Palestinians and Israelis alike, close to Hamas’ top military leaders and in charge of delivering the group’s messages, often via video, for around two decades, delivering statements while wearing a red keffiyeh that concealed his face.
The US targeted him with sanctions in April 2024, accusing him of leading the “cyber influence department” of al-Qassam Brigades.
In his last statement on Friday, he warned that the planned Israeli offensive on Gaza City would endanger the hostages.
On Saturday, Red Cross head Mirjana Spoljaric said an evacuation from the city would provoke a massive population displacement that no other area in the enclave is equipped to absorb, with shortages of food, shelter and medical supplies.
“People who have relatives in the south left to stay with them. Others, including myself, didn’t find a space as Deir Al-Balah and Mawasi are overcrowded,” said Ghada, a mother of five from the city’s Sabra neighborhood.
Around half of the enclave’s more than 2 million people are presently in Gaza City. Several thousand were estimated to have left the city for central and southern areas of the enclave.
Israel’s military has warned its political leaders that the offensive is endangering hostages still being held by Hamas in Gaza. Protests in Israel calling for an end to the war and the release of the hostages have intensified in the past few weeks.