The Green Brigade have issued a statement after Celtic rejected their tifo plans before Rangers come to town this weekend.
The ultras group had planned to unveil their traditional banner before the Glasgow derby kicks off on Sunday afternoon in front of a packed out crowd at Celtic Park.
Rangers fans will be in attendance for the first time in a number of matches following an away supporter lockout during these fixtures over safety concerns. That was confirmed by the club in a statement where they also revealed that Celtic fans would be able to take in the next match at Ibrox.
The GB hoped to ‘welcome’ Gers punters with a tifo but were seemingly told no by the club.
Now they have taken to social media to hit out at the decision and question why they have been denied.
Green Brigade hit out at Celtic over tifo rejection
Celtic recently hit out at banners being used without their permission having been smuggled in despite an agreement that they would be shown pre-match for the greenlight.
And the fan group say that has been used against them by the powers that be within the club as they refused to sanction any further tifos or banners this time around.
“Unfortunately, there will be no traditional tifo in the north curve for Sunday’s derby following a refusal by the Celtic board,” the Green Brigade’s statement began.
“Tifos are now customary for major fixtures and widely accepted to add to the occasion and atmosphere. It is therefore particularly disappointing to lose this when opposition fans will return to the derby in reasonable number for the first time in almost seven years, eager to make their mark.
- READ MORE: Green Brigade amplify calls for The Celtic End and await club talks after Champions League clash
“Two recent fixtures are cited as justification for refusing the derby tifo, with appeasing loyalists and Zionists shamefully being put ahead of the interests of Celtic fans.
“Last month, thousands of Celtic fans willingly participated in a tifo to “Show Israel the red card.” This launched a global campaign of almost 150 similar actions across 126 sports clubs from 31 countries and six continents.
“All followed the example of Celtic: a football club held in the highest esteem for reasons beyond sport. Despite demonstrable proof of widescale support for Palestine across the fanbase, the Celtic board continues to sanction our group, and individuals, for this sentiment.
“A couple of weeks later, we paid tribute to a friend and lifelong Celtic supporter in Bik McFarlane. Bik was a hero to many and is widely recognised as a pivotal part in bringing Ireland beyond armed struggle.
“While the Celtic board shamelessly commodifies aspects of Irishness, including an earlier era of armed struggle, it sanctions our group for expressions which, again, carry broad demonstrable support.
“Despite approaching our 20th season inside Celtic Park, we continue to face the same intransigence from a Celtic board unwilling to engage with fans and evolve alongside fan culture.
“The manager recently correctly pointed to how clubs engage with supporters in other countries; until this happens, the same tedious cycles, distractions and disruptions will inevitably continue.
“We urge Michael Nicholson and Chris McKay to revise the club’s entire fan strategy and to do so in consultation with fans.”
Green Brigade and Celtic have butted heads before
It’s not the first time there has been an issue between the Green Brigade and the club in recent times.
Talks over The Celtic End went cold despite a demand from the fanbase while a ban was imposed after unsavoury issues between the two parties.
The group also took a swing at fellow fans over being “spoiled and lazy”.
And they recently laid out an apology towards Celtic over what they branded “regrettable” incidents.
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