Green Brigade banned by Celtic as away ticket access suspended over ‘unacceptable behaviour’

Celtic have suspended the Green Brigade from having access to tickets for away games for the foreseeable future - starting with Sunday’s trip to face Hearts at Tynecastle.

The Parkhead club state the ban has been enforced due to trouble caused at recent away matches against Feyenoord in the Champions League and Motherwell at Fir Park, just a matter of weeks after the Hoops ultras group were banned from displaying tifos in European fixtures.

It is unclear how long the policy will be in place with a review pending. However, the Green Brigade are expected to still have access to home matches, including the Champions League group stage fixture against Atletico Madrid next week.

The group’s strained relationship with the Celtic board reared its head before the international break after a controversial banner display in support of Palestine was unveiled after the October 7 attack on Israel. The club condemned the group’s displaying of pro-Palestine flags, declaring they are “not a political organisation.”

It is understood that wasn’t a deciding factor behind the decision, with the Scottish Sun reporting club officials have cited “unsafe” and “unacceptable behaviour” at recent away games. The Glasgow giants were this week fined £20,250 for use of pyrotechnics in Rotterdam.

A Celtic spokesperson said: “As the group in question has been informed in writing, this decision to suspend access to away tickets relates to very clear and extremely serious unsafe and unacceptable behaviour at recent away matches, including those against Feyenoord and Motherwell.

“As an example, at Feyenoord, widespread and unsafe use of pyrotechnics resulted in another fine for the Club from UEFA. Investigations are ongoing in relation to unsafe behaviour at Motherwell, including rushing turnstiles and forcing open fire exits to permit access to individuals without tickets.”