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==Supporters== {{main|Celtic F.C. supporters}} In 2003 Celtic were estimated to have a fan base of nine million people, including one million in the US and Canada.<ref name="fanbase">{{cite web |url=http://www.scotsman.com/business/companies/media-leisure/celtic-to-launch-credit-card-for-us-fans-1-1291697 |title=Celtic to launch credit card for US fans |work=The Scotsman |date=20 July 2003 |access-date=6 July 2011 |archive-date=15 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160315035623/http://www.scotsman.com/business/companies/media-leisure/celtic-to-launch-credit-card-for-us-fans-1-1291697 |url-status=live }}</ref> There are over 160 Celtic Supporters Clubs in over 20 countries around the world.<ref>[http://www.nafcsc.com/ The North American Federation of Celtic Supporters Clubs] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110210205421/http://nafcsc.com/ |date=10 February 2011 }} lists some 125 clubs and the [http://www.aicsc.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=57&Itemid=56 Association of Irish Celtic Supporters Clubs] 40 more</ref> An estimated 80,000 Celtic supporters, many without match tickets, travelled to Seville in Spain for the [[2003 UEFA Cup Final|UEFA Cup Final]] in May 2003.<ref name=FIFA1/><ref name=EuropesBest/><ref name=Relish>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/europe/6627343.stm |title=Finalists relishing Hampden visit |work=BBC Sport |date=4 May 2007 |access-date=17 August 2010 |archive-date=30 August 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070830211300/http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/europe/6627343.stm |url-status=live }}</ref> The club's fans subsequently received awards from [[UEFA]] and [[FIFA]] for their behaviour at the match.<ref name=OSMSeville>{{cite web |url=http://observer.guardian.co.uk/gallery/0,8561,972767,00.html |title=Celtic in Seville |work=Observer Sport Monthly |date=May 2003 |access-date=17 September 2006 |archive-date=13 March 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070313084149/http://observer.guardian.co.uk/gallery/0,8561,972767,00.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=ESPNSeville>{{cite web |url=http://soccernet.espn.go.com/report?id=98023&cc=5739 |title=Celtic 2β3 FC Porto |work=ESPN Soccernet |date=21 May 2003 |archive-date=25 May 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110525132604/http://soccernet.espn.go.com/report?id=98023&cc=5739 }} [http://www.espnfc.co.uk/match?gameId=98023 Alt URL] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170325202119/http://www.espnfc.co.uk/match?gameId=98023 |date=25 March 2017 }}</ref><ref name=FIFA1/><ref name=EuropesBest/><ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/c/celtic/3313371.stm |title=Celtic fans get Fifa award |publisher=[[BBC Sport]] |date=12 December 2003 |access-date=20 August 2011 |archive-date=18 May 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080518065316/http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/c/celtic/3313371.stm |url-status=live }}</ref> Celtic has the highest average home attendance of any Scottish club.<ref>{{cite web|title=SPL 2010/2011 Stats β average home attendance|url=http://www.football-lineups.com/tourn/SPL_2010-2011/stats/home_avg_atte/|website=Football-Lineups|access-date=22 January 2016|archive-date=9 September 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220909141740/https://www.football-lineups.com/tourn/SPL_2010-2011/stats/home_avg_atte/|url-status=live}}</ref> They also had the 12th highest average league attendance out of all the football clubs in Europe in 2011.<ref>{{cite web|title=Top thirty football clubs in Europe ranked by attendances|url=http://www.footballeconomy.com/content/top-thirty-football-clubs-europe-ranked-attendances|website=Football Economy|access-date=22 January 2016|archive-date=29 January 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160129100614/http://www.footballeconomy.com/content/top-thirty-football-clubs-europe-ranked-attendances|url-status=live}}</ref> A study of stadium attendance figures from 2013 to 2018 by the ''[[International Centre for Sports Studies|CIES Football Observatory]]'' ranked Celtic at 16th in the world during that period, and their proportion of the distribution of spectators in Scotland at 36.5%, the highest of any club in the leagues examined.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/47929074|title=Celtic & Rangers among top 20 most watched clubs|work=BBC Sport|date=16 April 2019|access-date=17 April 2019|archive-date=16 April 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190416130528/https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/47929074|url-status=live}}</ref> In October 2013, French football magazine {{ill|So Foot|fr|vertical-align=sup}} published a list of whom they considered the "best" football supporters in the world. Celtic fans were placed third, the only club in Britain on the list, with the magazine highlighting their rendition of "[[You'll Never Walk Alone]]" before the start of European ties at Celtic Park.<ref>{{cite web|title=Top 10 : les meilleurs publics du monde|url=http://www.sofoot.com/top-10-les-meilleurs-publics-du-monde-172939.html|work=So Foot|access-date=3 March 2014|date=21 October 2013|archive-date=15 March 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140315230155/http://www.sofoot.com/top-10-les-meilleurs-publics-du-monde-172939.html|url-status=live}}</ref> On 23 October 2017, Celtic fans were awarded with the [[FIFA Fan Award]] for their [[tifo]] commemorating the 50th anniversary of the club's European cup win. The award celebrates the best fan moment of November 2016 to August 2017.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.scotsman.com/sport/football/teams/celtic/celtic-win-fifa-s-best-fans-of-the-year-award-1-4594599 |work=The Scotsman |first=Craig |last=Forbes |access-date=11 December 2017 |title=Celtic win FIFA's 'Best Fans of the Year' award |date=23 October 2017 |archive-date=12 December 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171212031422/https://www.scotsman.com/sport/football/teams/celtic/celtic-win-fifa-s-best-fans-of-the-year-award-1-4594599 |url-status=live }}</ref> ===Sectarianism=== {{main|Old Firm|Sectarianism in Glasgow}} Celtic's traditional rivals are [[Rangers F.C.|Rangers]]; collectively, the two clubs are known as the [[Old Firm]]<ref name="OLDF">{{cite web |url=https://www.fifa.com/classicfootball/clubs/rivalries/newsid=1023776/index.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130630015452/http://www.fifa.com/classicfootball/clubs/rivalries/newsid=1023776/index.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=30 June 2013 |title=Rivalries: Celtic vs Rangers. Old Firm's enduring appeal |website=[[FIFA]] |access-date=1 February 2015}}</ref> and seen by some as the world's biggest football derby.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.eveningtimes.co.uk/sport/other_football/15149515.Passion__pride__tradition_and_nastiness__Why_Old_Firm_match_is_greatest_derby_in_the_world/|title=Why Old Firm match is greatest derby in the world|work=[[Evening Times]]|first=Ken|last=McNab|date=11 March 2017|access-date=12 June 2017|archive-date=2 July 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180702204441/http://www.eveningtimes.co.uk/sport/other_football/15149515.Passion__pride__tradition_and_nastiness__Why_Old_Firm_match_is_greatest_derby_in_the_world/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="FIFA">{{cite web |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180326141358/https://www.fifa.com/news/y=2009/m=2/news=old-firm-enduring-appeal-1023776.html|archive-date=26 March 2018|url=https://www.fifa.com/classicfootball/clubs/rivalries/newsid=1023776/index.html |title=Classic Rivalries: Old Firm's enduring appeal |website=[[FIFA]] |date=16 April 2016|access-date=16 December 2018}}</ref> The two have dominated Scottish football's history;<ref name="OLDF" /> between them, they have won the Scottish league championship 108 times (as of May 2023) since its inception in 1890 β all other clubs combined have won 19 championships.<ref>{{cite web|title=Scotland β List of Champions β Summary|url=https://www.rsssf.org/tabless/scotchamp.html|website=The Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation|first=James|last=Ross|access-date=31 May 2016|archive-date=22 September 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080922133240/http://www.rsssf.com/tabless/scotchamp.html#sall|url-status=live}}</ref> The two clubs are also by far the most supported in Scotland, with Celtic having the sixth highest home attendance in the UK during the 2014β15 season.<ref>{{cite web|title=Premier League 2014/2015 Β» Attendance Β» Home matches|url=http://www.worldfootball.net/attendance/eng-premier-league-2014-2015/1/|website=worldfootball.net|access-date=30 January 2016|archive-date=18 June 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180618002543/http://www.worldfootball.net/attendance/eng-premier-league-2014-2015/1/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Premiership 2014/2015 Β» Attendance Β» Home matches|url=http://sco.worldfootball.net/attendance/sco-premiership-2014-2015/1/|website=worldfootball.net|access-date=30 January 2016|archive-date=1 April 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170401161526/http://sco.worldfootball.net/attendance/sco-premiership-2014-2015/1/|url-status=live}}</ref> Celtic have a historic association with the people of Ireland and Scots of Irish descent, both of whom are mainly [[Catholic Church|Roman Catholic]].<ref name="fanid">{{cite book |first=Richard |last=Wilson |title=Inside the Divide |publisher=Canongate Books |date=2012 |page=87}}"What is being asserted is two identities: Rangers and Celtic. There are other boundaries: Protestant and Catholic / Unionist and Republican / Conservative and Socialist...."</ref> Traditionally fans of rivals Rangers came from Scottish or Northern Irish [[Protestant]] backgrounds and support [[Unionism in Ireland]].<ref name="fanid" /> The clubs have attracted the support of opposing factions in the [[The Troubles|Troubles]] in Northern Ireland. Some supporters use songs, chants and banners at matches to abuse or show support for the Protestant or Catholic religions and proclaim support for Northern Irish paramilitary groups such as the [[Provisional Irish Republican Army|IRA]] and [[Ulster Volunteer Force (1966)|UVF]].<ref name=HoS>{{cite web|url=http://nilbymouth.org/?page_id=28|title=History of Sectarianism|work=Nil by Mouth|access-date=27 January 2011|year=2010|archive-date=9 September 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220909142909/https://nilbymouth.org/history/|url-status=live}}</ref> There have been over 400 Old Firm matches played.<ref>{{cite web|title=Celtic head-to-head v Rangers|url=http://www.soccerbase.com/teams/team.sd?team_id=512&team2_id=2104&teamTabs=h2h|website=Soccerbase|access-date=27 February 2017|archive-date=28 February 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170228044246/http://www.soccerbase.com/teams/team.sd?team_id=512&team2_id=2104&teamTabs=h2h|url-status=live}}</ref> 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."<ref name="HoS"/> 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<ref name = "wsc">{{cite news |url=http://www.wsc.co.uk/content/view/2114/29/ |work=When Saturday Comes |date=April 2004 |last=Millen |first=Dianne |title=Firm Favourites: Old Firm |access-date=28 January 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120524023534/http://www.wsc.co.uk/content/view/2114/29/ |archive-date=24 May 2012 |url-status=dead }}</ref> and in the period from 1996 to 2003, eight deaths in Glasgow were directly linked to Old Firm matches, and hundreds of assaults.<ref name="wsc"/><ref>{{cite book|last=Foer|first=Franklin|title=How Soccer Explains the World: An Unlikely Theory of Globalization|date=2010|publisher=Harper Perennial|isbn=978-0061978050|pages=36β37|edition=Reprint}}</ref> Both sets of fans fought on the pitch after Celtic's victory in the [[1980 Scottish Cup Final]] at [[Hampden Park]].<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/football/2009/may/18/seven-deadly-sins-rangers-celtic-wrath |title=Firm enemies β Rangers and Celtic, 1909β2009 |access-date=28 January 2010 |work=The Guardian |first=Kevin |last=McCarra |date=18 May 2009 |archive-date=23 June 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140623223053/http://www.theguardian.com/football/2009/may/18/seven-deadly-sins-rangers-celtic-wrath |url-status=live }}</ref> 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 and a small number of fans invaded the pitch.<ref name="dallas">{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sport/football/scottish_premier/334094.stm |title=Rangers make history out of chaos |work=BBC News |date=3 May 1999 |access-date=16 August 2010 |archive-date=27 March 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120327223319/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/sport/football/scottish_premier/334094.stm |url-status=live }}</ref> Celtic have taken measures to reduce sectarianism. In 1996, the club launched its ''Bhoys Against Bigotry'' campaign, later followed by ''Youth Against Bigotry'' to "educate the young on having ... respect for all aspects of the community β all races, all colours, all creeds".<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/1593970.stm |title=Bigotry puzzle for Old Firm |work=BBC News |date=11 October 2001 |access-date=6 April 2006 |archive-date=13 March 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070313041441/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/1593970.stm |url-status=live }}</ref> ===Irish republicanism=== Some groups of Celtic fans have expressed their support for [[Irish republicanism]] and the [[Irish Republican Army]] by singing or chanting about them at matches.<ref name="Sept11">{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/2264181.stm |title=Celtic seek end to 'IRA chants' |work=BBC News |date=17 September 2002 |access-date=25 October 2010 |archive-date=18 July 2004 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040718081521/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/2264181.stm |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.questia.com/read/1G1-84481876 |title=Celtic fans boo the Queen Mum; Title win marred by jeers during silence |work=Sunday Mirror |date=7 April 2002 |access-date=25 October 2010 |archive-date=9 September 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220909141738/https://www.gale.com/databases/questia |url-status=live }}</ref> In 2008 and 2010, there were protests by groups of fans over the team wearing the [[poppy]] for [[Remembrance Day]], as the symbol is opposed by Irish Republicans owing to its association with the British military.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.eveningtimes.co.uk/news/poppy-demo-fans-face-a-celtic-ban-1.1066962 |title=Poppy demo fans face a Celtic ban |work=Evening Times |date=9 November 2010 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120801203029/http://www.eveningtimes.co.uk/news/poppy-demo-fans-face-a-celtic-ban-1.1066962 |archive-date= 1 August 2012 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name="Banner">{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/c/celtic/9168655.stm |title=Celtic plan ban for anti-poppy protesters |date=8 November 2010 |work=BBC Sport |access-date=19 November 2010 |archive-date=9 September 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220909142946/http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/teams/c/celtic/9168655.stm |url-status=live }}</ref> Celtic expressed disapproval of these protests, saying they were damaging to the image of the club and its fans, and pledged to ban those involved.<ref name="Banner"/> In 2011, UEFA and the [[Scottish Premier League]] investigated the club over pro-IRA chants by fans at different games. UEFA fined Celtic Β£12,700, while the SPL took no action, as the club had taken all reasonable action to prevent the chants.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/amp/idUKTRE7BC0XE20111213 |title=Celtic accept UEFA fine for fans' pro-IRA chants |date=13 December 2011 |access-date=3 October 2021 |archive-date=3 October 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211003205856/https://www.reuters.com/article/amp/idUKTRE7BC0XE20111213 |url-status=live }}</ref>
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