The Green Brigade have announced that there will be no Champions League tifos at Celtic Park this season.
Displays from the Ultras group have been a source of inspiration and also controversy with the Celtic board deciding to stick with a safety first policy of banning tifos from the watching eyes of UEFA.
Back in November 2012 the Green Brigade set the benchmark in tifos when they produced a whole stadium display for Celtic’s dramatic Champions League win over Barcelona.
Those images were instantly shared around the world on social media- and have provided the club with a steady income stream as framed pictures have been a best seller in the Celtic Superstore.
Over the years the Green Brigade has thrown up a number of issues for the club to deal with resulting in a variety of stand-offs and a couple of bans on their Season Tickets.
Two years ago there was a prolonged campaign against the employment of Bernard Higgins as Celtic’s Security chief, in one match at home to Livingston the Green Brigade was silent for 30 minutes with Celtic drawing the match 0-0.
Picking up on a newsletter from the Green Brigade, The Sun reports:
There is a lack of interest within the club to properly engage with fans on initiatives like this to improve the fan experience at Celtic Park.
Despite Celtic being trailblazers in the UK fan-scene, we are quickly being left behind as other clubs implement larger standing sections, create designated singing sections in goal ends and install infrastructure for 3D tifos.
Throughout their 17-year history tifos have been a key addition to Celtic Park by the Green Brigade.
Used to motivate the team and support for big fixtures, they often bring a different layer of excitement and anticipation to the occasion while allowing fans to showcase their love and passion for Celtic in creative ways.
The Green Brigade opened the season with a dusting of magic by pulling the league trophy from a magician’s hat. In a cruel twist of irony, the club has since chosen to disappear all Green Brigade tifos.
It is particularly frustrating that for a second year in a row the club will obstruct tifos in the Champions League – a stage where the team needs every possible advantage and full support from the crowd.
Furthermore, it is even more concerning that the club’s reason for doing so on this occasion is punishment for North Curve Celtic defending its members by exposing the harassment of Police Scotland officers.
Clearly there are issues with some of the tifos that have resulted in Celtic being fined by UEFA, next month’s home match with Lazio would be a clear cause for concern on the back of matches between the two clubs in 2019.
Cutting off contact doesn’t seem to be a mature way forward but typical of the boardroom attitude towards fans where they are there to be patronised through ticket pricing, kit launches and various other commercial ventures.
Since the start of March Celtic have launched five different playing kits, another special edition with the Champions League logo stamped on the sleeve can’t be ruled out.
