The Celtic Football Club, or simply “Celtic”, is a Glasgow-based Scottish professional football team that competes in the Scottish Premiership.
The club was established in 1887 with the intention of reducing poverty among Glasgow’s East End Irish immigrant population. It can therefore be concluded that the club has an Irish heritage.
Ireland has a controversial history with Britain and the British Monarchy.
They have often been caught up in the middle of the British Royal power struggle.
During the era of the British Empire, Ireland was rampant with issues. Minorities’ rights were stolen away as anarchy swept across the country.
The harsh policies of King Henry VIII and his daughter, Queen Elizabeth I, exacerbated the situation.
Naturally, the Crown blamed the Catholics entirely, which make up the majority of the Irish population. By changing the narrative, the King and Queen were able to push Catholics to the social margins.
It also enabled the Royals to promote Protestantism by dissolving the Catholic-majority Church of Ireland and merging it with the Church of England.
To cut a long story short, the systematic persecution of Irish Catholics lasted for generations.
Last month, as people all over the world, mourned the passing of Queen Elizabeth II and football matches were being postponed, one team stood out.
When Celtic F.C. took the field, tempers flared.
In their Champions League clash away at Shakhtar Donetsk, Celtic fans erected alarming posters in the stands and screamed disrespectful songs against the Royal Family.
Knowing the history of the club and their origin, it is easy to see why they hold such strong emotions.
UEFA fined the club more than £13,000 for displaying an aggressive anti-monarchy flag during their Champions League clash against Shakhtar Donetsk in Poland last month.
It was deemed “unfit for a sporting event” by Europe’s footballing regulatory authority.
The Scottish team were also fined over £3,000 for using fireworks before their home match against Real Madrid.
A Celtic supporters organisation, known as the Green Brigade, have a history of raising funds whenever the club is fined for raising their voice for humanitarian causes.
Back in 2016, UEFA punished Celtic when their fans were waving the Palestinian flag.
To make a statement against the fine, the fans and the organisation raised £176,076 ($195,585) for a Palestinian charity.
After the club was slapped with the current sanction, the organisation decided to help the Scottish people suffering from poverty by raising a startling sum of money for food banks.
Green Brigade has now raised almost 28,000 GBP, which is nearly double the fine imposed on the club.
In their own words, “Unfortunately this appeal is necessary to support our impoverished communities because of the inequality in this country, which is embodied by the monarchy.”
In a sport that has such global outreach and effects, quite literally, millions of people, it is nice to see that it is not just about winners and losers for some, but things much deeper than that.
