The supporters of Celtic, a Scottish football club, were estimated in 2003 to number around 12 million worldwide. Numerous fan magazines and supporters' websites are dedicated to the club, and there are in excess of 800 supporters' clubs in over 60 countries around the world.
Celtic supporters have traditionally come from the Catholic population of Scotland and people of Irish background, but not exclusively. In 2003, Celtic fans received awards from FIFA and UEFA for their exemplary fair and cordial conduct after 80,000 fans had travelled to Seville for the 2003 UEFA Cup final. In 2017, Celtic fans were awarded with the FIFA Fan Award for their tifo commemorating the 50th anniversary of the club's 1967 European Cup win.
Celtic was founded as a charity for poor Irish immigrants in Glasgow by Brother Walfrid, a Marist Brother originally from County Sligo, Ireland. [77] Consequently, Celtic is strongly associated with Scotland's Irish Catholic community [78] [79] and have a significant number of supporters in Ireland and among members of the Irish diaspora elsewhere. [80]
Celtic has developed a fanbase in a number of countries around the world, with over 800 supporters' clubs in over 60 countries around the world. [81] Research in 2003 by Capita Consulting in conjunction with the Cranfield Institute estimated the worldwide fan base as being around nine million. [80]
There are Celtic supporters clubs in South Korea, [82] Sweden [83] Croatia, Germany, Denmark and Norway [84] while the club's profile in Kenya has been boosted by a team in Nairobi, Kibera Celtic, who were inspired by Celtic's charitable roots and use the profits from football to fund charitable initiatives in Kenya and throughout Africa. [85] This fanbase extended to Japan in 2005, when Japanese international Shunsuke Nakamura joined the club, [86] although the Tokyo Celtic Supporters' Club had already been established in 2001. [87]
In 2003, it was estimated that Celtic had a fanbase of one million in the United States and Canada. [80] In 2002, former Rangers director, Hugh Adam, claimed that Celtic were "the best-supported football club in North America" and that the club's "Irish connection" was a determinant factor in their popularity. [88] In 2004, The Sunday Times , when commentating on several European teams who were touring in the U.S. at the time, stated that clubs such as Chelsea, Real Madrid and Manchester United attracted support in the United States only when touring the country. In contrast, Celtic were said to "have such a strong pre-existing relationship with a huge expatriate following here that their support will endure." [89] There are around 80 Celtic supporters clubs in North America, [80] and nearly half of all U.S. states have a Celtic supporters club. [89]
Celtic have also developed supporters clubs in Australia, South Africa, and elsewhere in the Southern Hemisphere. [90]
Celtic's home stadium is Celtic Park, located in Parkhead in the East End of Glasgow. It is the sixth largest stadium in the United Kingdom and the largest football stadium in Scotland. Celtic Park's capacity has been 60,832 since the mid-1990s following redevelopment that turned it into an all-seater stadium, then in 2002 was put down to 60,501 then in 2003 until the present 2013–14 season put down again to 60,355. [91]
Celtic Park's average attendance for the 2010–11 season was 48,968, the highest in Scottish football and the twelfth highest in Europe. Celtic's highest average attendance over the last ten seasons was 58,150 in the 2005–06 season. Over the next three seasons Celtic's average attendance remained above 57,000 before dropping to 45,582 during the 2009–10 season. [92] A study of stadium attendance figures from 2013 to 2018 by the CIES Football Observatory ranked Celtic at 16th in the world during that period, with the proportion of the distribution of spectators in Scotland at 36.5%, the highest of any club in the leagues examined (Rangers were not far behind at 18th place globally and 27.4% of national audience share). [93]
The Scottish Cup final in 1937 between Celtic and Aberdeen at Hampden Park was watched by a crowd of 146,433, which is a record for a club match in Europe. [94] In 1970, Celtic's 'home' leg of their two-legged European Cup semi-final tie against Leeds United was played at Hampden Park to accommodate the expected large attendance. A 136,505 crowd watched Celtic win 2–1 on the night, [95] a record attendance for a competitive European club tie that stands to this day. [96]
The club's large travelling support make Celtic a popular choice of opponent for English-based footballers to select for testimonial matches. Over 5000 Celtic supporters turned for Peter Beardsley's testimonial match at St James' Park, Newcastle, in January 1999. [97] An estimated 15,000 Celtic supporters attended at Old Trafford for the testimonials of Bryan Robson in November 1990 [98] and for Ryan Giggs in August 2001. [99]
In 2003, Celtic reached the UEFA Cup final, with the match ending 3–2 to FC Porto. An estimated 80,000 Celtic supporters travelled to Seville for the occasion. [100] [101] Celtic fans received awards from UEFA and FIFA for their "loyal and sporting behaviour" at the match. [102] [103] [104] FIFA president Sepp Blatter also praised the Celtic fans when he presented the FIFA Fair Play award at Celtic Park; "I can only say that this is not the first time that Celtic fans have presented themselves as warm and wonderful supporters." [105] [106] The massive travelling support that followed Celtic over to Seville to watch them in the final became known as The Bhoys from Seville . [107]
Celtic's traditional rivals are Rangers; collectively, the two clubs are known as the Old Firm. The two have dominated Scottish football's history; between them, they have won the Scottish league championship 104 times since its inception in 1890 – all other clubs combined have won 19 championships. [108]
The rivalry between the teams had various ethnic, religious and political associations, in that Celtic are associated with Irish Catholic origins [109] and Rangers with Scotland's Protestant and British Unionist communities. [110] [111] A report prepared for Glasgow City Council in 2003 found that 74% of Celtic supporters described themselves as Roman Catholic and 10% as Protestant. For Rangers supporters, the figures were 5% and 65% respectively. [112]
"The clubs have attracted the support of opposing factions in the political difficulties of Northern Ireland, which intensified the rivalry in Scotland." [113] Anti-sectarian charity Nil by Mouth notes that some supporters use songs, chants and banners on match days to express abuse or support towards the Protestant or Catholic faiths and proclaim support for Northern Irish-based terrorist groups such as the IRA and UVF. [114] A study in 2008 by the University of Strathclyde found that the Old Firm rivalry was "strongly linked to the conflict in Northern Ireland". [113]
There have been about 400 Old Firm matches played. [115] The games have been described as having an "atmosphere of hatred, religious tension and intimidation which continues to lead to violence in communities across Scotland." [114] The rivalry has fuelled many assaults and even deaths on Old Firm Derby days. Admissions to hospital emergency rooms have been reported to increase ninefold over normal levels [116] and journalist Franklin Foer noted that in the period from 1996 to 2003, eight deaths in Glasgow were directly linked to Old Firm matches, and hundreds of assaults. [116] [117]
Occurrences of serious crowd trouble between Celtic and Rangers supporters stretches as far back as the 1909 Scottish Cup final, which was contested by the two sides. The tie went to a replay after the first match ended in a 2–2 draw. The replayed match also ended in a draw (1–1) after 90 minutes. Despite public expectations, no extra time was played and in response thousands of supporters from both sides invaded the pitch to vent their frustration, causing £1,000 of damage (a substantial sum in the 1900s, equivalent to around £120,000 today). [118] Both clubs petitioned the Scottish Football Association to have the tie abandoned and their demands were met when officials decided the match would not be replayed. The cup and all medals were withheld for that year. [119] [120]
Both sets of fans fought an on-pitch battle in the aftermath of Celtic's 1–0 victory in the 1980 Scottish Cup final at Hampden Park. [121] In January 1988, Mark Walters became the first black footballer to play for Rangers; he made his debut in an Old Firm game at Parkhead and was subjected to racial taunts from Celtic fans, some of whom also threw bananas towards the pitch. [122] There was serious fan disorder during an Old Firm match played in May 1999 at Celtic Park; missiles were thrown by Celtic fans, including one which struck referee Hugh Dallas, who needed medical treatment. [123] Rangers are renowned for their chanting of the sectarian song 'The Billy Boys' during games. [124]
Both clubs have taken measures to reduce sectarianism. [113] In 1996 Celtic launched their Bhoys Against Bigotry campaign, later followed by Youth Against Bigotry to "educate the young on having ... respect for all aspects of the community — all races, all colours, all creeds". [125] Celtic partnered with Rangers to form the 'Old Firm Alliance' in 2005, an initiative aimed at educating children from across Glasgow about issues like healthy eating and fitness, as well as awareness of anti-social behaviour, sectarianism and racism. [126]
In March 2008, UEFA investigated Celtic fans for alleged sectarian singing at a match against Barcelona. [127] However the case was dropped before the end of the month due to a lack of evidence. [128] In November 2011, Celtic were again under investigation by UEFA for alleged offensive chants from their fans during their Europa League game against Rennes. [129] On this occasion UEFA found the Celtic fans to have been guilty of "illicit chanting" and fined the club £12,700. [130]
In April 2012, the general secretary of the Celtic Supporters Association said he was "genuinely sorry" after tweeting that it was a "problem" that the Protestant workers who built the Titanic "didn't sail on it". [131]
Celtic supporters have traditionally been associated with support for Irish republicanism, and the flying of Irish flags at matches is common. [132] Some groups of Celtic supporters also sing or chant Irish folk and rebel songs, [133] which express support for the Irish struggle for freedom. These songs are culturally emblematic to Irish society and the historic founding of the Irish Free State. In 2008 and 2010, there were protests by groups of fans over the team wearing the poppy symbol for Remembrance Day, as it is a divisive symbol in Ireland. [134] [135] Celtic have expressed disapproval of these protests, saying they are damaging to the image of the club and its fans, and that they will ban those involved. [135] [136] [137]
In November 2011, Celtic were fined £12,700 by UEFA for pro-IRA chanting from some Celtic supporters. [138] In response to this in their UEFA Europa League game against Udinese, Celtic fans were seen to have unveiled a banner reading "Fuck UEFA". The club condemned the act, [139] banning for life the supporter responsible for the display, [140] whilst UEFA fined Celtic €25,000 in relation to the incident and related events during the match. [141] [142]
In December 2013, the club were fined £42,000 by UEFA for an "incident of a non-sporting nature" in relation to a display shown by a section of the Celtic support before their Champions League group stage tie against Italian side AC Milan. The banners displayed by the Green Brigade ultras group showed portraits of Scottish hero William Wallace and Irish hunger striker Bobby Sands side by side along with the text: "The terrorist or the dreamer? The savage or the brave? Depends on whose vote you're trying to catch or whose face you're trying to save". After the disciplinary hearing, the club issued a statement in which they condemned the banners and stated that the actions of a "small minority must stop". After the incident, Celtic relocated 250 supporters from section 111 and issued temporary bans to over 100 more. [143]
The Green Brigade are a group within the Celtic support who style themselves on the ultras groups found amongst many European and South American football supporters. They were formed in 2006 and describe themselves as "a broad front of anti-fascist, anti-racist and anti-sectarian Celtic supporters". [144] 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. [145] In November 2012, the Green Brigade organised a full stadium pre-match card display against Barcelona to celebrate Celtic's 125th anniversary. [146] The display featured a Celtic cross, green and white hoops and 125 Celtic in written form, with supporters earning the praise of club chairman Peter Lawwell. [147] They have however been criticised for some of their more controversial banners, such as the poppy protest banner in 2010. [148] [149]
The Celtic Football Club, commonly known as Celtic, is a professional football club in Glasgow, Scotland. The team competes in the Scottish Premiership, the top division of Scottish football. The club was founded in 1887 with the purpose of alleviating poverty in the Irish–Scots population in the city's East End area. They played their first match in May 1888, a friendly match against Rangers which Celtic won 5–2. Celtic established themselves within Scottish football, winning six successive league titles during the first decade of the 20th century. The club enjoyed their greatest successes during the 1960s and 70s under Jock Stein, when they won nine consecutive league titles and the 1967 European Cup. Celtic have played in green and white throughout their history, adopting in 1903 the hoops that have been used ever since.
Rangers Football Club is a professional football club in Glasgow, Scotland. The team competes in the Scottish Premiership, the top division of Scottish football. The club is often referred to as Glasgow Rangers, though this has never been its official name. The fourth-oldest football club in Scotland, Rangers was founded by four teenage boys as they walked through West End Park, in March 1872, where they discussed the idea of forming a football club, and played its first match against the now-defunct Callander at the Fleshers' Haugh area of Glasgow Green in May of the same year. Rangers' home ground, Ibrox Stadium, designed by stadium architect Archibald Leitch and opened in 1929, is a Category B listed building and the third-largest football stadium in Scotland. The club has always played in royal blue shirts.
Hibernian Football Club, commonly known as Hibs, is a professional football club in Edinburgh, Scotland. The team competes in the Scottish Premiership, the top division of Scottish football. The club was founded in 1875 by members of Edinburgh's Irish community, and the name is derived from the Latin for Ireland. The Irish heritage of Hibernian is reflected in the name, colours and badge of the club. Their local rivals are Heart of Midlothian, with whom they contest the Edinburgh derby. The team’s colours are green and white.
The Old Firm is a collective name for the Scottish football clubs Celtic and Rangers, which are both based in Glasgow. The two clubs are the most successful and popular in Scotland, and the rivalry between them has become deeply embedded in Scottish culture. It has reflected and contributed to political, social and religious division and sectarianism in Scotland. As a result, matches between them have had an enduring appeal around the world.
Celtic Park is a football stadium and the home of Scottish Premiership team Celtic Football Club, in the Parkhead area of Glasgow, Scotland. With a capacity of 60,832, it is the largest football stadium in Scotland, and the eighth-largest stadium in the United Kingdom. It is also known as Parkhead or Paradise.
Steven Davis is a Northern Irish former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. He made his full international debut in 2005 and made 140 appearances at senior level, scoring 13 goals, to become the most capped Northern Ireland player, also a record for any man from the British home nations. He captained his country at UEFA Euro 2016 where they reached the last 16.
Sectarianism in Glasgow takes the form of long-standing religious and political sectarian rivalry between Catholics and Protestants. It is particularly reinforced by the fierce rivalry between Celtic F.C. and Rangers F.C., the two largest Scottish football clubs sometimes referred to as the Old Firm, whose support base is traditionally predominantly Catholic and Protestant respectively. A 2003 report for Glasgow City Council indicated that people clearly believe "sectarianism is still prevalent in Glasgow", but that members of the public were divided on the strength of the relationship between football and sectarianism.
"Billy Boys", also titled "The Billy Boys", is a loyalist song from Glasgow, sung to the tune of "Marching Through Georgia". It originated in the 1920s as the signature song of one of the Glasgow razor gangs led by Billy Fullerton and later became viewed to reflect the long-running sectarian religious hatred directed by some Protestants against Catholics in the city. It is associated in particular with Rangers F.C.
Ian Durrant is a Scottish professional football coach and former player who was last a first team coach at Kilwinning Rangers until the end of the 23-24 season.
Graham Spiers is a Scottish sports journalist who writes for the Scottish edition of The Times newspaper. He has won Scotland's Sports Journalist of the Year award four times.
Racism in association football is the abuse of players, officials, and fans because of their skin colour, nationality, or ethnicity. Some may also be targeted because of their association with an opposing team, although there have been instances of individuals being targeted by their own fans. The topic of racism in association football has been widely covered by the media and in academic studies. There have been a range of responses by various associations, such as FIFA and UEFA, as well as by teams, and individual players and managers to address the problem.
The "Famine Song" is a song sung by some Ulster loyalists in Ulster and Scotland and is normally directed at Catholics and, in Scotland, Irish people, those of Irish descent or those with perceived affiliations to Ireland. It is also sung by fans of Scottish football club Rangers due to rival Celtic's Irish roots. Set to the tune of "The John B. Sails" popularised by Carl Sandburg, the lyrics of the song make reference to the 1840s' Great Famine of Ireland. The song is often heard at loyalist marches in Northern Ireland. "The Famine Song" has received criticism due to the racist and sectarian nature of its lyrics and, in some cases, those singing it have received criminal convictions.
The Green Brigade are a Celtic F.C. supporter ultra group formed in 2006. They are situated in the North Curve corner section of Celtic Park.
The 1980 Scottish Cup Final was played on 10 May 1980 at Hampden Park in Glasgow and was the final of the 95th Scottish Cup competition. Old Firm rivals Celtic and Rangers contested the match, which Celtic won 1–0 after extra time when George McCluskey scored the winning goal off of a corner. Rioting after the end of the match, involving both sets of supporters, resulted in the sale of alcohol being banned at sporting events in Scotland.
The 2011–12 season is the 115th season of competitive football in Scotland.
Rangers Football Club is a Scottish football club based in the city of Glasgow.
Between the 1930s and 1970s, the Scottish football club Rangers had an unwritten rule whereby the club would not knowingly sign any player who was a Roman Catholic. This was because Rangers were viewed as a Protestant, Unionist club, in contrast to their Old Firm rivals, Celtic who were viewed as an Irish Catholic club, although Celtic never adopted a similar signing policy. Rangers' policy was ended in 1989 when they signed ex-Celtic striker Mo Johnston, under manager Graeme Souness.
The Aberdeen–Rangers rivalry refers to football matches and related activity involving the Scottish football clubs Aberdeen and Rangers.
"No Surrender (to the IRA)" is a British football chant sung to the tune of the "Oil in My Lamp" hymn which expresses opposition to the Provisional Irish Republican Army. It was commonly sung in UK pubs in the 1970s and 1980s, including by Rangers F.C. supporters, many of whom held strong unionist sentiments. It may have been adopted by English fans who switched to following Scottish football clubs (including Rangers F.C.) during the five-year period that English clubs were banned from competing in UEFA competitions following the 1985 Heysel Stadium disaster. By the 21st century, the song has become controversial in both the UK and Ireland. In 2013, The Football Association of England emailed supporters, asking them to refrain from singing it ahead of a May 2013 game against the Republic of Ireland national football team.
Controversial comedian Frankie Boyle is most concerned about his beloved football team Celtic F.C., who are currently on track for a record breaking ten Scottish Premier League titles in a row – and the threat that nuclear war means to that achievement.
I then confirm that she is now a committed Glasgow Celtic supporter.
Backed by an anonymous red-clad all-male band, Celtic fan Capaldi, 22, entered to the Champions League theme before delivering a trademark cordial – and expletive-laden – greeting.
Indeed, a few days later, the Daily Mail will insinuate – via a huge and fragrant front-page portrait of the actress, then another photograph inside of the pair attending a Celtic match – that she has "fallen" for her co-star.
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has generic name (help)Bought a Rangers fan a drink after they beat my team, Celtic, 4 – 0.
It will be amazing. I've never been to Celtic Park, but I am a big Celtic fan. I couldn't afford it when I was a kid, so it has always been a dream of mine to go and play there.
Only Tony Lundon stayed out of the sun – perhaps the Celtic-loving singer was watching the Old Firm game.
...Johnny agrees: 'I just looked at Celtic and thought 'that's us'. They looked almost continental in the hoops.'
It is no secret that West Bromwich Albion winger James McClean is a big Celtic fan.
As a kid I loved comics and I loved films and it sort of struck me when I was about 11 or 12 that somebody must be writing and drawing these books which I'm enjoying so much and it just seemed a wee bit more attainable than playing for Celtic.
A staunch Celtic fan, he uses a sporting non-sequitur worthy of a pro pundit to reinforce his point. 'It's like when you go to see the LA Lakers play basketball,' Rice muses, 'the crowd isn't singing for the entire 90 minutes'.
I will always be a supporter of Celtic and always be a fan.
It is well known I follow Celtic...It is always a special moment [to score] at Rangers.