The Green Brigade plan to hold a “day of action” at Celtic Park if their dispute with the club is not “satisfactorily resolved” in two weeks.The Celtic fan group, some of whom are from Dunbartonshire, say they have waited months for a meeting with chief executive Michael Nicholson, after the club declared 24 hours earlier an offer of dialogue had not been taken up.
Palestinian flag flew from Dumbarton Municipal Buildings during a previous episode of the conflict
The Green Brigade want a ceasefire in Gaza although Celtic FC and the Labour Party have not committed to go that far and want periods of calm introduced to allow water and vital food supplies to be transported in to the war area where more than 10,000 people are said to have died.
The 267 season-ticket holders who registered as members of the Green Brigade remain suspended from Celtic Park and are not receiving tickets for away matches.
The group issued a statement saying there was “little value in continuing this online game of statement-tennis which was initiated by the PLC board, and which it continues to draw out by repeating the same disingenuous claims that we have already addressed”.
It added: “We note that the PLC board claims to be open to dialogue and engagement. We remind them that we have been waiting for a meeting with chief executive officer Michael Nicholson since the summer.
“The planned summer meeting was originally postponed until September to allow focus on transfer activity – we await satisfactory progress on both fronts and remain open to constructive dialogue moving forward.
“Should our own situation not be satisfactorily resolved by Celtic v Motherwell [on 25 November] we will organise a day of action at this match. We will liaise with all interested Celtic fans, fan groups and CSCs [Celtic supporters clubs] in the lead up to this date.”
Celtic wrote to season-ticket holders on Thursday stressing that the Green Brigade had been banned for “unacceptable behaviours” leading to safety concerns and not for the display of Palestine flags.
They also claimed that some of the fans whose season tickets were suspended had distanced themselves from the Green Brigade.
The mass suspension came after Celtic received two UEFA fines, for a pyrotechnic display at Feyenoord and an anti-fascist banner which contained “offensive” language towards Lazio in Italian.
The club also cited supporters “rushing turnstiles and forcing open fire exits to permit access to individuals without tickets and pitch incursions” at Fir Park, “intimidating and threatening” behaviour towards stewards and staff, plus “unauthorised displays”.
Thousands of supporters across Celtic Park defied club appeals as they displayed Palestine flags before the Champions League clash with Atletico Madrid last month.
Their ban has nothing to do with waving Palestine flags, more to do with thug behaviour over a long period of time at matches.