CELTIC, POLITICS AND PALESTINE: THE AWKWARD TOPICS WE NEED TO FACE
- BY LIAM CARRIGAN
- May 1
- 3 min read
I’ve had a rough time, this past year or so. First, I lost my mother, suddenly and unexpectedly. Then a few months later, I found out I was going to lose my job after 7 years.
I say this not for sympathy, I say it to give added context to what we are about to talk about.
Compared to what I’m about to discuss, my life is and always has been, a breeze.
Yesterday’s ACSOM Bulletin parked the football talk for an extended period, because something more important needed to be discussed.
Politics and Celtic are Inseparably Linked and Always Have Been
The awkward truth is this: Celtic exist as a result of a genocide. A manufactured famine in Ireland, that killed innumerate numbers of people, led directly to the creation of our club.
Today, a disturbingly similar event is happening right before our eyes, in Gaza.
As I listened to my friends Chris, Paul John, and John discussing the Gaza situation, I can honestly say, I’ve never felt so proud to be a Celtic fan, and to be a part of ACSOM.
These are horrific topics, but topics that I think not only should we discuss, I would argue that it is our duty to do so.
It would be fair to say there’s been quite a bit of blowback from yesterday’s Bulletin.
The common retort is “stick to the fitba!” and “keep politics out of football”.
I’m sorry, but we are well past that stage now.
The level of censorship, of selective reporting, of outright lies being told by UK media are such that anyone who has a platform has, in my opinion, a duty to speak out.
I make no apologies for doing so, and nor should any of my colleagues on ACSOM.
I would encourage you all to watch yesterday’s bulletin regardless of your political leanings.
For me, and I speak only for myself, not anyone else, this isn’t a political discussion anymore. It’s a question of humanity.
If you have no empathy for those suffering in Palestine, then I can’t teach that to you. Nothing I say here will change your view.
Celtic have, since our very inception given a voice to those who have none. 140 years ago, it was Irish Catholics, being brutalized in Glasgow. In the 1970s and 80s, it was those affected by the British occupation of Northern Ireland, and Apartheid in South Africa.
Today, it is our brothers and sisters in Palestine. Large swathes of the Celtic support, not all, I know, but most, have given voice to the plight of those people.
We speak up because they can’t.
Celtic supporters have always been rebels, it is in our DNA. It is part of who we are, what we represent.
At the end of the day, that rebellious streak was our salvation in 1994, while other fans sat back and watched their team die in 2012.
There’s a reason why one of our most famous songs contains the phrase “We don’t care what the animals say!”
It’s a common misconception that this is a reference to Rangers fans exclusively. It isn’t. Its in reference to evil the world over.
Celtic have always stood on the side of good. I became a supporter because my dad encouraged me, because of tradition.
I remained a supporter in my adult life, because I believe strongly in the social and political ideals that Celtic represent.
That will never change. I’m just one man, with mediocre writing skills and a blog with limited reach. But I will do the best I can to call out corruption, violence and evil whenever and wherever I see it.
Whether it's something as dire as Palestine, or something as ultimately inconsequential as a dodgy refereeing decision, I will call it out, because I can. I don't take this position of privilege I have lightly.
So, much like my friends yesterday on the ACSOM Bulletin, I make no apologies for bringing this up.
The football chat will resume later today, but this needed to be said, and it needed to be said now.
