On August 17, fans of Scottish football team Celtic flew Palestinian flags during a home game against Israeli team Hapoel Be’er Sheva. The club was fined £15,000 by UEFA. It was not the first time Celtic had been sanctioned for this offence, but this time Celtic’s Green Brigade fan group used the fine as a platform to raise money for Palestinian charities with the #MatchTheFineForPalestine campaign.

TLV1’s Laragh Widdess went to Turner Stadium in Israel’s Negev desert on August 23, where Hapoel Be’er Sheva were hosting Celtic for the return leg of the Champions League qualification tie. Given the controversy of the first leg, which Celtic won 5-2, how would Be’er Sheva fans react to their Scottish opponents on home turf? Would the Celtic fans try to bring their political campaign to foreign soil? How has Middle East politics made its way into British football anyway? And, most importantly, which team would qualify for the holy grail of Champions League football?

(Having trouble deciphering those melodious Scottish accents? Find the transcript below.)

Music:
DAM – Who Is The Terrorist?
Wolfe Tones – Celtic Symphony
Celtic Borders – The Gael (The Last of the Mohicans OST)
The Malleys – Just Can’t Get Enough

Written and produced by Laragh Widdess

Where the Middle East is concerned, sport is very rarely just sport. In the recent Olympics we saw the Lebanese delegation refusing to share a bus with the Israeli delegation, and an Egyptian judoka refusing to shake hands with his Israeli opponent. But soccer, as the region’s most popular sport, is the one that gets most entangled with politics. Think of the role of Egyptian soccer fan groups in the Arab Spring, or the recent Palestinian move to get Israel kicked out of the international football association (FIFA). But when parties outside the Middle East get involved, it can tell us something quite important about how this region is viewed around the world.

August 17, 2016, Celtic Park stadium, Glasgow, Scotland. Crowd attendance 60,000. Scottish league winners Celtic play Israeli league winners Hapoel Be’er Sheva in the qualification round of Europe’s highest level competition – the Champions League. It’s been three years since proud club Celtic have qualified for the Champions League group stages. And this is uncharted territory for Be’er Sheva – new kids on the block in European football. Celtic win the tie 5-2. Be’er Sheva fan Gadi Markovic was there.

Gadi: “I heard so much about Celtic fans and stadium, and I never in my life dreamed that I would be able to see my team from Be’er Sheva, Israel, playing in such… I cannot say nothing but “this is a sport temple.” So to watch my team there in this temple, I couldn’t miss it. So this is why we traveled, not cheap travel, but something that is a life experience. Everywhere people welcomed us. Coming out from Israel 40 degrees to lovely weather of below 20 with everything is calm, and I can say that Glasgow for me was a very good experience, I wish I will come back again. And I’m supporting Celtic I think it’s a great club.”

And now for the politics. A couple of hundred Celtic fans from the “Green Brigade” group flew Palestinian flags at the game. It wasn’t the first time, and it wasn’t the first time the club has been immediately fined for it by UEFA – the Union of European Football Associations. A UEFA rule forbids “gestures, words, objects or any other means to transmit any message that is not fit for a sports event…”

This time, the Green Brigade fan association had an idea of how to use the fine as a springboard for their adopted cause. They set up a GoFundMe account with the social media hashtag #MatchTheFineForPalestine. The goal was to match the UEFA fine of £15,000 (about $19,500) and donate the money raised to Medical Aid Palestine and the Lajee Centre – two charitable causes that help Palestinians. #MatchTheFineForPalestine has so far raised over £160,000 (about $210,000).

Gadi is a proud Israeli and die-hard Be’er Sheva fan, and he was in Celtic Park with his wife and three young daughters. How did he feel when he saw those flags?

Gadi: “I felt sorry for people that are taking a side without knowing any of the facts. I can tell you that I saw two women out of the stadium having the Pride flag with Palestinian flag. I mean, if they took this flag to Gaza, say, they will not be treated well. If they will take it to Tel Aviv, it will be nothing out of ordinary. So I felt that there is a lack of understanding what’s going on here in the Middle East, and I felt sorry for these people.”

I met Gadi outside Be’er Sheva’s Turner stadium on August 23, an hour before kick-off in the return leg of the tie. He’d come to the gate being used by the Celtic fans in order to welcome them and wish them luck in the match.

Laragh: “So what do you think will happen tonight, I mean do you have any fears that it might get out of hand, that there might be some bad feeling?”

Gadi: “My only fear is that it will go too much to politics side. That there will be too much Israeli flags – I’m proud of the Israeli flag but this is not relevant to a sport stadium. It’s just not relevant.”

There were more Israeli flags flying than usual, but not as many as I’d expected. And it seemed like there were more policemen than Celtic fans, who only numbered about 200. They’d been warned in no uncertain terms by the Israeli authorities that no Palestinian flags were allowed anywhere near the stadium. Most Celtic fans I spoke to seemed genuinely interested in the football, and only the football.

Anthony: “My name is Anthony and I live in Modiin now, I used to live in Glasgow, Scotland. The ordinary Celtic supporter’s not interested, just wants to watch the football, and I happen to be in that category.”

John: “I’m from Glasgow, my name in John McGregor. I know they’re having this “pay the fine for Palestine” – hey ho. That’s not why I’m here.”

Kieran: “I’m Kieran from Edinburgh. To be honest at the end of the day it’s all about the football. That’s the bottom line.”

When I asked how they felt about the flying of Palestinian flags, most were diplomatic in their answers.

John: “That’s a hot potato. Right I’m gonna tell you it as it is, right? A lot of fans think “yeah we should fly the Palestinian flag.” I personally think they should fly it outside of Parkhead [stadium]. Not inside, but outside. That’s my own personal opinion, a lot of fans think that way as well. Celtic is bigger than that.”

Laragh: “So you don’t have any particular animosity towards Israel?”

John: “None in the slightest. The only thing is, I wish we could take their weather back home. We’ve had a great time here, we’ve been more than welcome, the guys are brilliant.”

Laragh: “Why on earth would a Scottish football club have anything to do with the Palestinians?”

John: “This is the $60,000 dollar question here now, you know? We are basically a Scottish club with an Irish-based background that’s been, eh, been downtrodden throughout the years. Watch how you quote me on this: Celtic fans and the Green Brigade, who set this whole thing up, they have a thing for people who are downtrodden. And that is basically what it is – solidarity with people who are downtrodden.”

Kieran: “Celtic’s history have a strong core with people, oppressed people. And that’s what Palestine are at the end of the day. Awkward that it’s come with this tie, against an Israeli team, but at the end of the day, you know, it’s difficult to commit over whether it should or whether it shouldn’t be done, you know?”

Proud Glaswegian and Celtic fan Anthony made aliyah with his family eight years ago. Here’s how he sees it:

Anthony: “Well I think it’s partly to do with the fact that Celtic maybe at some time was perceived as supporting the underdog and the oppressed. Now, because Israel seems to occupy more of the news than any other country, and because of the amazing propaganda of the other side shall we say – they get the news from the BBC and from so many different things – and it seems to paint a picture of a downtrodden people. So, when you don’t have a clue of what’s going on and you see these things, you feel sorry for these people. I can understand why they do this, but they don’t have the full facts I’m afraid.”

A bit of background on Celtic Football Club might be helpful here: Celtic was founded in Glasgow, Scotland in 1887. It’s founder was Brother Walfrid, an Irish Catholic, and his aim was to help alleviate poverty in Glasgow’s East End. There had been a huge influx of Irish immigrants who were starving from the potato famine, and that’s where they’d settled. Money raised by the club would go to the Poor Children’s Dinner Table charity, instituted by Walfrid. So right from the beginning, Celtic had a connection with Ireland and with socio-political causes. And what better way to get your cause recognized than make it visible at a football match, with tens of thousands in attendance and millions more watching on TV?

But when I asked Celtic supporters why they didn’t display symbols of other oppressed or underprivileged groups, they were a bit stumped. Here’s Kieran:

Kieran: “We were happy for Gazprom, which is a Russian state company, to fly their flags around the Champions League last week, and there was no Ukrainian flags. So it’s a valid point. But as I say I think it’s maybe concurrent with the fact that we’re playing an Israeli team and it’s… if we play CSKA Moscow watch out for the Ukrainian flags is all I can say with that.”

As Anthony suggested earlier, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict probably gets disproportionate airtime in the British media, and it’s a cause many people feel strongly about, even those who normally don’t engage with politics. But Celtic players play in green jerseys with a four-leaf clover on the chest, and its fans fly the Irish tricolor at its games. So it’s probably more useful to look at Irish views, rather than British ones.

The Irish have found parallels with their own experiences here in the Middle East since before WWII. Initially they found it with the Zionists, an oppressed people struggling for nationhood against the same colonial power: Britain. But once the Zionists got their country – Israel – allegiance soon switched to the other people in the land who were suffering and struggling for their own nation: The Arabs. The Israelis became the colonizers almost overnight, and Irish Republicans considered them to be aligned with the British, exemplified by the words of the first British governor of Jerusalem, who called Israel “a little loyal Jewish Ulster.” Ulster being the northern province of Ireland under British control that was seen as a bulwark against Irish nationalism.

And this sentiment gradually worked its way into Irish foreign policy – hence Ireland was the first EU member to call for the recognition of a Palestinian state, in 1980, and the last EU member to allow Israel to open a residential embassy, in 1993.

At a grassroots level, the fervor is perhaps strongest in Northern Ireland, which is still part of the UK. In the 1980s, a famous mural in a nationalist area of Belfast depicted armed IRA and PLO members with the slogan: “IRA-PLO one struggle.” Even after peace came to Northern Ireland, in response to the Second Intifada, Catholic Republican areas flew the Palestinian flag, while Protestant Unionist areas flew the Israeli flag. Celtic’s major football rivals Rangers, also a Glasgow team, have also been known to fly Israeli flags during matches.

Those Scots who identify strongly with sectarian Irish politics, particularly on the Republican side, are also likely to have strong feelings about Israel and the Palestinians. These Celtic fans spoke to me on condition of anonymity:

Celtic fan 1: “The British government gave you a country that was never theirs. It wasn’t their place to give a country away. That’s what I think about it. Typical British government…

Laragh: “So you feel an affinity with the Palestinian cause?”

Celtic fan 1: “Of course, we all feel an affinity with the Palestinians. What about Ireland? The British government stole it.”

Laragh: “Are there any other causes that you also fell connected to, like, around the world? Out of interest?”

Celtic fan 1: “The Falklands I hate.”

Laragh: “Would you have brought a flag here if you could?”

Celtic fan 2: “No, no need to.”

Celtic fan 1: “No because I’m not a flag bearer.”

Celtic fan 2: “They’ve been let down [the Palestinians]. Let down.”

Celtic fan 3: “Wait a minute, you’ve had two dozen United… UN resolutions against your so-called country, right? That’s why we were flying Palestinian flags last week.”

Celtic fan 1: “Israel’s fascist. It’s a fascist country as much as what Germany was a fascist country.”

Celtic fan 2: “For us, for me, they became the new Nazis. The bullied have become bullies. That’s what it looks like to me.”

Celtic fan 1: “They’re trying to victimize everybody else.”

With these strong sentiments in mind, isn’t it a bit awkward for those like Anthony to support a club like Celtic and love Israel at the same time?

Anthony: “I’m quite happy to support Celtic and there’s absolutely no… I don’t feel any discomfort at all. I’m very comfortable living in Israel. There’s no conflict, no.”

Daniel Fields, a member of Anthony’s family who grew up in Glasgow with a Celtic season-ticket, was a bit less comfortable with the situation.

Daniel: “It’s weird because I support Celtic and I’m an Israeli, so it’s like they don’t support me. And that’s what I really feel about it.”

I also spoke to Stuart, from East Kilbride near Glasgow. He’s lived in Israel since marrying his Israeli wife. They brought their two sons to the game.

Stuart: “Really I was a bit disappointed about the whole… It made me feel a bit strange living here and seeing it, and divided and, I don’t know. I feel like here, we just walked to the stadium now and people are cussing us on the way. I’m with children. Now come on, I understand you but have a bit of respect, we’re with children.”

A few of the Be’er Sheva fans made their way round to the Celtic supporters’ gate in order to make their feelings known. That’s Ezra, from Be’er Sheva, shouting at Daniel, who was wearing a Celtic shirt. He’s saying “how could you fly flags of the PLO,” “there’s no place like Israel…” He doesn’t realize, of course, that Daniel is Israeli and also not comfortable with the flag flying. Ezra continues:

Ezra: “Look what happened in France, in Belgium – what, you’re supporting them? Look what happened in Turkey at the wedding – so they go and support the PLO? For what reason? And what gets me is, the Scots are civilized and all of that. And here they are, I just saw them, walking around with their heads down.”

I have to say that I didn’t see any Celtic fans with their heads bowed. But Ezra was doing what a number of Israelis do – conflating issues to do with Arabs, Islam and terrorism, into one tangled web. For Ezra, flying the Palestinian flag is supporting terrorism, and not just terrorism in Israel, terrorism around the world. Regardless of whether Palestinians are involved. Most Be’er Sheva fans I spoke to, however, took a much more moderate view. Fan encounters didn’t escalate beyond taunts and jibes, and there were even some pleasant exchanges, between Gadi and John for instance.

Gadi: “I want to tell them that we are welcoming them and… I was in Glasgow last week and it is the best sport place in the world. The energy there was fantastic, the passion was fantastic. I wish you all the luck in the Champions League.”

John: “You too. Everything he says, I agree with. The guy’s tip top. And I say it’s a pleasure meeting you, you take care. Take care.”

Gadi: “Ya. I’m jealous that you have such a place.”

John: “All I’ll say to you is “Enjoy the Europa League,” ‘cos we’re going to the Champions League!”

Gadi: “Ya, you deserve it.”

Well John and Gadi’s predictions were correct… just. Celtic’s players may have been a bit overwhelmed by the heat – Be’er Sheva is in Israel’s south, in Negev the desert. And they may have been a little overwhelmed by the intense atmosphere in the small stadium, where the fans feel very close to the pitch. And perhaps the Be’er Sheva fans were even more vocal and passionate than normal. They buoyed their team to an impressive 2-0 victory, in which Be’er Sheva enjoyed 62 percent  possession, 21 shots on goal, and even a missed penalty. But it wasn’t enough. Celtic clung on despite some haphazard defending, winning the tie 5-4 on aggregate. Be’er Sheva fans could be proud of how they and their team acquitted themselves, but it was a huge night for Celtic. Champions League football will expose players and fans to a much higher level of competition compared to the domestic Scottish league, and it will bring enormous financial revenue to the club. Perhaps Palestinian charities can expect some more Scottish windfalls this season, then. Certainly many Celtic fans would consider that money well spent, although they’d probably prefer manager Brendan Rogers to buy a new right-back first.