The Green Brigade has released a statement slamming the Celtic board’s banning order of the Ultras group.
Celtic released a statement yesterday evening to announce that they were banning the Green Brigade for a total of six games after the Ultras group were involved in an altercation with Police Scotland and stewards during the Bhoys’ win over Falkirk last week.
In the statement, released on the Celtic FC website, the club claim that the Celtic Ultras’ “orchestrated action to ‘rescue’ that individual [who allegedly assaulted a steward]. Many of these individuals actively sought to conceal their identity using hoods, scarves and face coverings.
“This large group verbally abused and assaulted the steward and police officers, one male and one female, in a confined space and at one point there was a risk of one of the officers being pulled to the ground and trampled in amongst the larger group. The action taken by members of the Green Brigade group prevented the arrest of the individual in question.”
Celtic also provided footage of the incident which does prove that fans rushed to the exit, but nothing in the context of what happened previously or even during the alleged assault.
And it appears that the Green Brigade is not having it as they fire back at the club, labelling the Celtic statement ‘disingenuous’.
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Green Brigade hit back at ‘unfair’ Celtic ban
The Green Brigade released their own furious statement in a blast at Celtic for their ‘unfair’ ban and claim that there are ulterior motives for the club’s actions.
The statement on X read, “Following the Celtic Trust’s announcement this morning, Celtic FC has initiated a further attack on supporters by banning the Green Brigade for at least six matches.
“The ban encompasses three home and three away matches beginning with the Kilmarnock match on Sunday 9th November. We were informed of this ban at 17:46 on Friday 7th November which in of itself is unacceptable.
“The ban is an activation of the “suspended sentence” which was applied at the beginning of the season because fans “accessed other sections of the stadium without permission” to display Palestine flags.
“The “suspended sentence” and its activation are fundamentally unfair, out of step of any fair process and totally unprecedented.
“During a period of consistent and growing pressure against the Celtic board, this ban is nothing more than a cynical attempt to lock-out such sentiment and buy the Celtic board some relief.”
Celtic slammed for ‘ignoring’ concerns raised about Police Scotland
The Green Brigade then go on further to highlight consistent issues with policing at Celtic games and the increase of security claiming the club have broken an agreement with the Ultras group about having a Police Scotland presence in the standing section.
The statement continued, “The justification for the ban is disingenuous, similar to previous bans. It is another example of the concerning relationship between Celtic FC and Police Scotland which stretches many years and has been well documented.
“It follows the appointment of Mark Hargreaves, former Chief Superintendent of Police Scotland and HM Assistant Inspector of Constabulary in Scotland, to Head of Safety, Security and Operations at Celtic FC this summer.
“Since this appointment, the level of security around the Standing Section has dramatically increased including the placement of police officers on the concourse which was a break from a previous agreement that no police would be in the Standing Section or on its concourse.
“This agreement followed supporter feedback, particularly through the effective strategy of documenting police officers responsible for harassment on social media.
“We have consistently relayed concerns regarding this in person at a meeting (11/08/2025), in writing (28/08/2025) and to the SLO team at every home match this season. Our concerns have been ignored.
“This ban also follows the disappointing Fairhurst report which was unreasonably delayed, lacked conviction and has had zero follow-up from Celtic FC despite multiple commitments to do so, including at the meeting with the Celtic Fans Collective (06/10/2025).”
Green Brigade send Celtic fans a message with reminder about Police Scotland’s actions in the Fairhurst report
Police Scotland have been called out on numerous occasions for their treatment of Celtic supporters at football games and this boiled over in last season’s final Glasgow Derby match at Parkhead.
Celtic supporters were kettled outside the stadium in an action that triggered the club to launch an independent Fairhurst investigation into the matter.
And the Ultras group has sent Celtic a reminder of that report and a message to the overall Hoops support about continued action against the board.
The Green Brigade continued, “In case anyone has forgotten, the Fairhurst report related to the unlawful five hours detention of hundreds of Celtic fans on London Rd before the derby on 16th March 2025. To date, the Club has offered no condemnation of the police treatment of its supporters, which included young children.
“Once again, the Celtic board has chosen to side with Police Scotland in another instance of police harassment against its supporters – with zero effort nor care to consider supporter feedback.
“This includes disregarding a complaint raised to the SLO team following the incident in question. We categorically refute the allegations against our members and instead contest that Celtic FC and Police Scotland were both the architects and aggressors in this incident.
“Moreover, we believe that the Celtic board is using this incident to cynically lock-out anti-board sentiment and give themselves some much needed relief.
“Finally, we encourage all Celtic supporters to continue to back the Celtic Fans Collective, to commit to the ‘Not Another Penny’ boycott and to sustain the pressure on the Celtic board for positive change at our football club. Your efforts are clearly working.”
With no arrest or trial in a court of law, it appears that Celtic have made up their minds and decided to ban the whole Ultras group for what seems to be the actions of a minority.
It is clear that relations between the Celtic support and the Parkhead board have completely broken down to a level not seen since the late 1990s.
Will the board and the Celtic fans ever heal their relationship, it appears that is a very long way off, if recoverable at all.
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