UEFA Fines Celtic Over Fans Flying The Palestinian Flag

A large group of Celtic fans waved Palestinian flags before a Champions League preliminary game against Israeli club Hapoel Be’er Shevae last month. This morning, UEFA announced that they would be fining the club €10,000 for the protest because it violated a UEFA rule regarding the use of political symbology.

The specific rule that Celtic violated states:

However, all associations and clubs are liable for the following inappropriate behaviour on the part of their supporters and may be subject to disciplinary measures and directives even if they can prove the absence of any negligence in relation to the organisation of the match:

[...]

E. The use of gestures, words, objects or any other means to transmit any message that is not fit for a sports event, particularly messages that are of a political, ideological, religious, offensive or provocative nature;

Celtic have been fined for the same thing in the past, as have other clubs whose fans have flown the Palestinian flag. UEFA also fined Barcelona €150,000 earlier this year after their fans flew the Catalan flag, a flag whose colors are part of their club crest.

Once UEFA opened disciplinary proceedings last month, Celtic fans started raising money to match any fine in donations to a Palestinian charity, and they reportedly ended up raising over ten times more than the eventual fine.