The Celtic Trust has demanded Celtic restore the season tickets of all members of the Green Brigade.
The group has called on Celtic chiefs to go back on the decision to suspend the season tickets of all members of the Green Brigade.
Last night an email to members of the Green Brigade informed them their tickets would not be eligible until further notice due to "repeated incidents of unacceptable conduct".
However, the Celtic Trust have called out the board over the banning order insisting it is "abundantly clear" the decision was "motivated by the flying of Palestinian flags".
The Green Brigade have staged numerous displays showing support for Palestine amid the ongoing conflict with Israel.
The latest display at Celtic Park in the draw with Atletico Madrid saw thousands of supporters hold Palestine flags aloft all around the stadium despite club appeals.
A fiercely worded Celtic Trust statement then shared concern that given the timing of the ban - after the match against Atletico Madrid - it could be "either politically motivated or motivated by an unwillingness to stand up to UEFA".
The full Celtic Trust statement read: "The Trustees of the Celtic Trust wish to comment on the decision of Celtic PLC to withdraw, for an indefinite period, the season ticket rights of a section of the Celtic support. From the information now available on social media, it is abundantly clear to us that this action has been motivated by the the flying of Palestinian flags at Celtic Park in protest against the continuing wholesale and indiscriminate slaughter of Palestinian civilians, including over 3000 children. This show of anger and solidarity with the Palestinian people was supported by thousands of Celtic supporters around the stadium and not for the first time. Why then was only one group singled out and targeted?
"The facts, according to various communications from Celtic which are now freely circulating, are that the away ticket allocation for the Green Brigade was stopped because of alleged conduct issues at Feyenoord (19/9/23), Motherwell (30/9/23) and Lazio (4/10/23). The withdrawal of away tickets was not implemented for a full three weeks after the Lazio game for some reason, but we can only assume that this ‘punishment’ covered all the incidents up to that point.
"After that point the only games we have had were the Atletico Madrid home game on 25/10/23 and the Hibs away game (for which this group of fans were not allocated tickets) on 28/10/23. Further, we know that there were no Celtic travel stewards in the Hibs ground so Celtic can have no credible information about any misconduct at that ground. And that leaves the Atletico Madrid game….
"On that basis, the Trustees are concerned that the action by Celtic, given the timing, is either politically motivated or motivated by an unwillingness to stand up to UEFA. We stand with the Green Brigade in their calls to end the genocide in Gaza – as do hundreds of thousands of people across the UK and across the world – and we call on Celtic to restore the season ticket rights of the Green Brigade immediately pending refreshed and open dialogue with the Green Brigade and other supporters’ groups.
"Further we ask Celtic to engage with all of the supporters’ organisations and CSCs on the issue of ‘offensive’ or ‘political’ displays with a view to representing those views to UEFA in the strongest possible terms."
An email from the club sent to members of the Green Brigade read: “We are writing to advise that due to repeated incidents of unacceptable conduct involving the 'Green Brigade' group, the Club has suspended the season tickets of all season ticket holders who have registered with the Ticket Office as being part of this group, pending further review and communication with the group and/or the supporters in question regarding compliance with the Ground Regulations, the Rail Seating Safety Code of Conduct, and Club communications, moving forward.
“Therefore, your ticket is not eligible for use tomorrow night for our match against St. Mirren and will remain suspended until further notice. Access to away tickets for supporters registered as being part of the group will also remain suspended. The safety of all supporters at Celtic Park is of paramount importance and amid these serious safety concerns, this immediate action whilst regrettable, is considered by the Club to be necessary.
“We have separately emailed the representative of the group with further detail, following on from a number of formal written communications dating back to September and ongoing dialogue since the summer. Should you wish to contact the Club on this or any other matter related to the Rail Seating Section, we would ask that you direct your correspondence in the first instance to railseating@celticfc.co.uk.”
A Celtic spokesperson later insisted the banning order comes after "unacceptable behaviours and non-compliance by supporters rather than a reactive move to protests.
The spokesperson said: "To avoid any misunderstanding the progressive steps taken by the club over a period of time are as a result of an increasingly serious escalation in unacceptable behaviours and non-compliance with applicable regulations, at matches at Celtic Park and away grounds over a period of time, which are creating serious safety concerns and other issues."
