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Detroit Celtic Supporters Club stands with Palestine

By Jacob Smith

Detroit soccer fans stand in solidarity with Palestine.

Hamtramck, MI – On Saturday, March 25, the Detroit City FC, a soccer team, played their home opener at Keyworth Stadium against the Indy Eleven. For this game, the Detroit Celtic Supporters Club (DCSC) called for a Palestinian solidarity protest and called for fans to bring a Palestinian flag to wave. This was due to Israel – the Zionist entity – banning the waving and public use of the Palestinian flag in Palestine.

At least 30 people were waving flags at the game with many more supporters standing close by in this solidarity bloc of the fan section. This caused other attendees of the game who weren’t taking part to come up to protesters and respectfully ask what the flags meant and why they were there – leading to informative conversations.

A quick search for the Detroit Celtic Supporters Club website shows an active and progressively oriented grouping with a record of putting their convictions into practice with various charities they support and political actions, such as one on the occasion of Malcolm X’s birthday. They support the Glasgow Celtic, which is known for its progressive and anti-imperialist history.

Sean Kelly, the founder and president of the DCSC, said, “I have been bringing the Palestinian flag to Detroit City FC games since 2013 and it has always created conversation, but with the increasing violence of the Zionist entity I thought it was imperative as a leftist and the anti-imperialist beliefs of the DCSC to call for a flag solidarity protest for the home opener.”

He also said he planned on continuing to bring flags to every home game throughout the season and invites others to continue to bring theirs.

Leaving the game, which, sadly, Detroit City FC lost 0-1, one participant said, “It’s really encouraging to see so many leftists here building connections and having a good time with each other while pushing the struggle for liberation in Palestine into the conversation for a stadium full of football fans. I hope this is just the beginning of building a popular leftist culture and social life in Detroit.”

#HamtramckMI #Palestine #FreePalestine #MiddleEast