Taking sides in conflict and the question of antisemitism in Scottish football

ABSTRACT

This study considers the flying of Palestinian flags by Celtic Football Club supporters in Scotland as an illustration of political activism in sport. Despite being over 4000 kilometres away and holding no ethnic, national or religious connections with any community involved in the Arab-Israeli conflict in the Middle-East, fans wave these flags to demonstrate backing for Palestinian people. With reference to an historical context of the ethno-religious origins of Celtic FC and its supporting fanbase being significantly composed of members of a multi-generational Irish-Catholic diasporic minority community in Scotland, through utilizing fan writings, self-representations, and the results of a small survey of supporters, this research provides for deeper understanding of the intermittent use of sport as a space for ‘taking sides’ in conflicts that have ethnic, national, religious, and political resonances. Critically, this insight also offers important reflections regarding narratives of antisemitism in football and beyond.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1. Hartmann, ‘The Olympic “Revolt” of 1968 and its Lessons for Contemporary African American Athletic Activism’.

2. Doehler, ‘Taking the star-spangled knee’.

3. Kelly, ‘Western militarism and the political utility of sport’ and ‘A Critical Discourse Analysis of Military-Related Remembrance Rhetoric in UK Sport’.

4. Gill et al., ‘Premier League players, managers and fans given go-ahead to display Ukraine flags as a showing of solidarity amidst Russian conflict’.

5. Thomas & Barlow, ‘The Hillsborough Truth’.

6. Siregar, ‘Why is The Sun hated by Liverpool fans & banned in many places?’.

7. Poulton, ‘Tackling antisemitism within English football’.

8. Muller et al., ‘Antisemitism as a football specific problem?’.

9. Schubert, Antisemitismus im Fussball, 434.

10. Curtis, ‘Antisemitism and European Football’, 273.

11. Frank, ‘Not Silent, International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’.

12. Poulton, ‘Tackling antisemitism within English football’.

13. Bickerton and Klausner, A History of the Arab – Israeli Conflict.

14. Jewish Virtual Library: https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/total-casualties-arab-israeli-conflict (Accessed July 21, 2023).

15. United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees website.

16. Habib et al., ‘Health and living conditions of Palestinian refugees residing in camps and gatherings in Lebanon.

17. International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance: https://www.holocaustremembrance.com/resources/working-definitions-charters/working-definition-antisemitism (Accessed July 22, 2023).

18. Bradley,Celtic Minded 1–5 (2004–22).

19. Wilson, Celtic.

20. Gallagher, Glasgow and ‘The Catholic Irish in Scotland’; Bradley, Ethnic and Religious Identity in Modern Scotland. Also see Outside Write: the football travel, history and culture, at https://outsidewrite.co.uk/left-wing-football-clubs/(Accessed February 1, 2023).

21. Connor, ‘Global cultural flows and the routes of identity’.

22. McDougal, ‘Kicking from the left’.

23. Anti-racist and anti-religious bigotry themes also significantly characterize the Celtic Minded series of books. Bradley, Celtic Minded 1–5 (2004–2022).

24. The Green Brigade ultras – constituting approximately 2% attendance at home and 5–10% at away matches – arguably represents a comparatively concentrated, contemporary, elaborate vocalization, visual demonstration and organized performance of similar parts of Celtic’s fandom since the club’s early years.

25. Devine, ‘Social consciousness, class and political identity’. A Scottish born based 2^nd generation Irish interviewee for the ESRC ‘Irish 2’ project noted how Irish his socio-cultural life was in Scotland. For other examples from the Irish community in Britain, see Hickman et al., ‘The limitations of whiteness and the boundaries of Englishness’.

26. Bradley, ‘Sectarianism, anti-Sectarianism and Scottish football’.

27. Bradley, Celtic Minded 1–5 (2004–2022).

28. Anderson, Imagined Communities.

29. The Scotsman, November 27, 2009, https://www.scotsman.com/news/stuc-calls-on-celtic-fans-to-fly-flag-for-palestine-at-israeli-match-2513480 (Accessed July 21, 2023).

30. O’Hare, ‘Celtic football fans and Palestinian refugees’.

31. Wight, ‘Celtic Football fans and why Palestine matters’.

32. The Herald, September 4, 2020, https://www.heraldscotland.com/news/18699314.pro-palestine-protestors-gather-hampden-park-ahead-scotland-v-israel-game/ (Accessed 22/7/23).

33. Brown, ‘It is not anti-Semitic to abhor Israeli oppression of Palestinians – it is the decent, humane response’.

34. Pferrer, ‘Does Scotland Manage to Be anti-Israel Without Being anti-Semitic?’.

35. McCall, ‘Anti-Semitism on the rise across the UK, but incidents remain scarce in Scotland’.

36. CST Blog: Protecting Our Jewish Community, ‘Antisemitic incidents report 2023’, February 15, 2024, https://cst.org.uk/news/blog/2024/02/15/antisemitic-incidents-report-2023 (Accessed 16/2/24).

37. ‘Celtic star Nir Biton sparks fury on Instagram by supporting Israel’s ongoing military offensive against Palestine’.

38. Harpin, ‘Celtic’s Israeli midfielder Bitton called “dirty Jew” after derby defeat’.

39. Bradley, Ethnic and Religious Identity in Modern Scotland and ‘The Patriot Game’.

40. Bonino, ‘Muslims in Scotland’.

41. Horne, ‘Racism, Sectarianism and Football in Scotland’.

42. EU Agency for Fundamental Rights report 2019.

43. Security Trust/Scottish Council of Jewish Communities 2021.

44. In September 2014 Scottish Premier League club St Johnstone was fined 18,000 Euro for a single supporter flying the Palestinian flag at a Europa League qualifying tie against Slovakian side Spartak Trnava. The Daily Record, September 2, 2014, https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/local-news/st-johnstone-fined-18000-euros-4152820 (Accessed April 26, 2022). In May 2021, Muslim players at English Premier League side Manchester United, Paul Pogba and Amad Diallo, took a Palestine flag from a supporter before parading it after their last match of 2020–21 season.Sky Sports News: https://www.skysports.com/football/news/11667/12310622/manchester-uniteds-paul-pogba-and-amad-diallo-raise-palestine-flag-after-premier-league-draw-with-fulham (Accessed April 26, 2022). This occurred after Leicester City’s Muslim players, Hamza Choudhury and Wesley Fofana, did similar after the FA Cup final. See https://www.irishtimes.com/sport/soccer/english-soccer/leicester-duo-celebrate-fa-cup-win-with-palestine-flag-1.4566484. (Accessed April 26, 2022).

45. Donations were received from more than 1000 people, including fans, and celebrities (eg, Pink Floyd’s Roger Waters and Italian-Scots singer, Paulo Nutini) from over 20 countries. Thousands of fans attended the presentation of the monies prior to a Celtic match.

46. For example, see Bradley, Celtic Minded 5.

47. Lerman, ‘Why turning to Jewish exceptionalism to fight antisemitism is a failing project’.

48. Bradley, ‘British colonialism, Ireland and the “old firm”’.

49. Bradley, ‘Sectarianism, anti-Sectarianism and Scottish football’.

50. Freire, Pedagogy of the Oppressed.

51. Garavan, ‘Opening up Paulo Freire’s Pedagogy of the Oppressed’.

52. McKenna, ‘Magnus MacFarlane-Barrow on the miracle of Mary’s Meals’.

53. https://www.sciaf.org.uk/(Accessed July 26, 2023).

54. McKinney, ‘Catholic Schools and Preferential Option for the Poor’.

55. Bradley, ‘Family life and Celtic Football Club’.

56. Aspects of this diversity are manifest in each of the volumes of the Celtic Minded book series. Also see, Andrew Morris, ‘My Experiences as a Jewish Celtic Fan’, https://www.celticquicknews.co.uk/my-experiences-as-a-jewish-celtic-fan/ (Accessed April 30, 2022). For another perspective on this diversity, see also abuse received by singer and Celtic fan Rod Stewart from Celtic’s ultra-group, the Green Brigade, in response to his expressing a positive comment towards British Prime Minister, Boris Johnson. The Daily Record, December 16, 2019, https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/celtic-fans-controversial-fk-rod-21106933(Accessed April 26, 2022).

57. Connolly, Walfrid.

58. Conaghan, ‘Football and flags’.