Green Brigade
Encyclopedia
The Green Brigade is an ultras
Ultras
Ultras are a type of sports fans renowned for their fanatical support and elaborate displays. They are predominantly European followers of football teams...
group consisting of fans of Celtic Football Club
Celtic F.C.
Celtic Football Club is a Scottish football club based in the Parkhead area of Glasgow, which currently plays in the Scottish Premier League. The club was established in 1887, and played its first game in 1888. Celtic have won the Scottish League Championship on 42 occasions, most recently in the...
. The group, formed in 2006, describes itself as a "a broad front of anti-fascist, anti-racist and anti-sectarian Celtic supporters".
Background
The group are normally situated in section 111 of Celtic ParkCeltic Park
Celtic Park is a football stadium in the Parkhead area of Glasgow, which is the home ground of Celtic FC. Celtic Park, an all-seater stadium with a capacity of 60,832, is the largest football stadium in Scotland and the sixth-largest stadium in the United Kingdom, after Murrayfield, Old Trafford,...
and Celtic football club themselves were closely involved in creating the Green Brigade section within the stadium. The Green Brigade have organised various displays at Celtic matches involving banners, flags and demonstrations which have been credited with improving the atmosphere at Celtic Park.
The group have been known to participate in pro-Irish Republican Army
Irish Republican Army
The Irish Republican Army was an Irish republican revolutionary military organisation. It was descended from the Irish Volunteers, an organisation established on 25 November 1913 that staged the Easter Rising in April 1916...
and Irish Republican chants.
The Green Brigade were warned by Celtic that their behaviour inside Celtic Park could pose a safety risk due to standing up through matches and blocking passageways. At a match against Dundee United in November 2010, there was serious disorder in the section occupied by the Green Brigade when a supporter was being ejected by stewards. Supporters charged at the security guards and one was left with a bloody lip after a coin was reportedly thrown.
In April 2011 at the Scottish Cup semi final against Aberdeen police officers attempted to remove a supporter who had set off a flare inside the stadium. Police were unable to remove the supporter because other fans physically held onto him. Four supporters were later held by police in connection with the incident. More than 100 Green Brigade members walked out of the stadium in protest of the arrests.
In April 2011 some members of the Green Brigade had not been sent season ticket renewal forms after the club had threatened to disperse the group around other sections of the stadium.
The Green Brigade has also supported in the Show Racism the Red Card
Show Racism The Red Card
Show Racism the Red Card is an anti-racism education charity, established in England in January 1996 to harness the high profile nature of footballers as anti-racist role models to educate against racism throughout society in the United Kingdom....
campaign that aims to tackle racism in football.
Poppy protest
At a match against AberdeenAberdeen F.C.
Aberdeen Football Club are a Scottish professional football club based in Aberdeen...
in November 2010, the Green Brigade unfurled two banners with the words "Your deeds would shame all the devils in hell. Ireland Iraq Afghanistan. No bloostained (sic) poppy on our hoops." This protest was against the placing of the remembrance poppy
Remembrance poppy
The remembrance poppy has been used since 1920 to commemorate soldiers who have died in war. They were first used in the United States to commemorate soldiers who died in World War I . Today, they are mainly used in current and former Commonwealth states to commemorate their servicemen and women...
on Celtic's shirt for the 11 November
Armistice Day
Armistice Day is on 11 November and commemorates the armistice signed between the Allies of World War I and Germany at Compiègne, France, for the cessation of hostilities on the Western Front of World War I, which took effect at eleven o'clock in the morning—the "eleventh hour of the eleventh day...
2010 match against St. Mirren
St. Mirren F.C.
St Mirren Football Club are a Scottish professional football club based in Paisley, Renfrewshire who play in the Scottish Premier League, having been promoted from the First Division in 2005–06.St...
and was widely reported in Scotland and throughout Britain. The Irish Independent
Irish Independent
The Irish Independent is Ireland's largest-selling daily newspaper that is published in both compact and broadsheet formats. It is the flagship publication of Independent News & Media.-History:...
commented that "the unfortunate misspelling did not dilute the message. In fact, it reinforced it. These people were angry, way too angry to get the spelling right."
The Green Brigade released a statement concerning the protest, explaining that "Our group and many within the Celtic support do not recognise the British Armed Forces
British Armed Forces
The British Armed Forces are the armed forces of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.Also known as Her Majesty's Armed Forces and sometimes legally the Armed Forces of the Crown, the British Armed Forces encompasses three professional uniformed services, the Royal Navy, the...
as heroes, nor their role in many conflicts as one worthy of our remembrance". The statement cited civilian deaths caused by the Armed Forces in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan as well as Bloody Sunday
Bloody Sunday (1972)
Bloody Sunday —sometimes called the Bogside Massacre—was an incident on 30 January 1972 in the Bogside area of Derry, Northern Ireland, in which twenty-six unarmed civil rights protesters and bystanders were shot by soldiers of the British Army...
, particularly the 2010 conclusions of the Saville Inquiry
Bloody Sunday Inquiry
The Bloody Sunday Inquiry, also known as the Saville Inquiry or the Saville Report after its chairman, Lord Saville of Newdigate, was established in 1998 by British Prime Minister Tony Blair after campaigns for a second inquiry by families of those killed and injured in Derry on Bloody Sunday...
, highlighting the fact that the report "confirmed that 14 unarmed civilians were murdered in Derry in 1972 by the Paratroop Regiment". The statement further indicated the group's displeasure at Celtic
Celtic F.C.
Celtic Football Club is a Scottish football club based in the Parkhead area of Glasgow, which currently plays in the Scottish Premier League. The club was established in 1887, and played its first game in 1888. Celtic have won the Scottish League Championship on 42 occasions, most recently in the...
chairman John Reid
John Reid (politician)
John Reid, Baron Reid of Cardowan, PC is a British politician, who served as a Labour Party Member of Parliament and cabinet minister under Tony Blair, most notably as Defence Secretary and then Home Secretary...
, stating that "rather than leave his politics at the door ... the former Armed Forces Minister and Secretary of State for Northern Ireland and Defence, has forced his onto the first team jersey".
In response to the Poppy protest, Celtic said in a statement: "The Club is currently carrying out an investigation into this matter. When it is concluded, it is the Club's intention to ban those identified as responsible from Celtic Park". The Glasgow Herald reported that in the weeks leading up to the incident, the Green Brigade had stepped up pro-IRA
Irish Republican Army
The Irish Republican Army was an Irish republican revolutionary military organisation. It was descended from the Irish Volunteers, an organisation established on 25 November 1913 that staged the Easter Rising in April 1916...
chants. Celtic has been investigated by UEFA
UEFA
The Union of European Football Associations , almost always referred to by its acronym UEFA is the administrative and controlling body for European association football, futsal and beach soccer....
in the past for alleged sectarian behaviour including pro-IRA chants. Former Celtic manager David Hay
David Hay
David Hay is a former Scottish footballer. After completing secondary education at St Mirin's Academy in Paisley he signed for Celtic in 1966 and became one of the so called 'Quality Street Kids', the great Celtic reserve team that also included players such as Kenny Dalglish, Lou Macari, Danny...
has called for singing of IRA anthems to be banned, while current Celtic manager Neil Lennon
Neil Lennon
Neil Francis Lennon is a former footballer from Northern Ireland. He is the current manager and former captain of Celtic....
has also said that IRA chants "embarrass" the club.
The Association of Irish Celtic Supporters Clubs, regarding the poppy on the club shirt, stated: "to see the jersey being used as a medium for such a divisive symbol and the message it communicates is deplorable".
The Celtic Trust, an organisation that works to combine shareholdings of supporters at Celtic Park, expressed its dismay at the club's intent to ban supporters from the ground for taking part in this protest. The Celtic Supporters' Association released a statement opposing the poppy appearing on club shirts.
The Celtic team wore the poppy on their shirts on Remembrance Sunday in 2010 with no further outward protest from fans, although the Green Brigade themselves reportedly organised a boycott of the match.