Celtic have come under fire today amid a joint fan group statement condemning their refusal to allow the Celtic End to re-appear for the Women’s side ahead of their home clash against Heart of Midlothian on April 21st.
The Green Brigade, Bhoys and North Curve have cited obstacles thrown in the way by Michael Nicholson, Chris McKay and company regarding the return to a goal-end filled with colour and atmosphere rather than the smooth dialogue between fans and the club that took place in 2023.
last year, Parkhead was a wall of noise, including in our final day victory over Hearts, where over 15,882 turned out in a record-breaking attendance in Scottish Women’s Football, most of which were located in the Jock Stein lower as the Ghirls narrowly missed out on title glory [Sky Sports].
As a result of the club’s decision, which has been taken due to safety concerns, the groups have made a collective decision not to attend the upcoming fixture or our upcoming clash against Hibernian pencilled in for May 19th.
Celtic respond to collective fan groups statement
Per The Daily Record, a Celtic spokesperson has now responded to the statement released earlier today, citing that the rail seating section will be in operation for the two Scottish Women’s Premier League matches at Parkhead.
They said: “The group were made aware that the Jock Stein would not be made available due to certain safety concerns relating to this specific area, but arrangements have been made by the club to allow the group to attend within the rail seating section.
“This has been communicated to the group and the club hopes that as many supporters and supporter groups as possible come along to support Celtic FC Women at the upcoming Celtic Park matches, as well as all other matches.”
Speaking as someone who was among the atmosphere created by the Celtic End last year, the decision not to permit our Women’s side another chance to experience that vocal backing once again strikes the wrong chord with the wider support.
We should be looking at ways to bolster the matchday experience at Parkhead, and it doesn’t help that clips from last year were used in promotional content to publicise the ticket announcement for our clash against Hearts.
Nevertheless, we will need to take the club’s word on that. Regardless, hopefully, as many people as possible can attend as the Hoops go into two vital matches on home soil with major implications.