At Celtic Park a few weeks ago my friend was troubled by the flags and banners expressing support for some of the trade unions whose members were undertaking strike action.

In several home games before and since section 111, which houses the Green Brigade, has often resembled an unofficial Trade Union Congress.

It’s not that he was opposed to trade unions – he’s a trade unionist himself – or even the right to strike. Rather, he felt that Parkhead was simply not the place to espouse political sentiments. “They should leave their politics behind for 90 minutes and just concentrate on the football,” he said.

His words echoed the disdain that overt displays of political support seem to engender among some of football’s ruling class. This usually proceeds on the same theme: that football and politics shouldn’t mix.

Occasionally, you’ll find this view expressed by sections of the football writing fraternity. This has always puzzled me. Print and broadcast journalism relies on politics and displays of political expression for their very existence. The essence of this is the free exchange of sincerely-held views.

My heart has been gladdened by the banners of support for the trade unions which have lately become a feature of Celtic games. The current wave of strikes by public sector workers is a class struggle to secure a decent quality of life for many low-paid workers.

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For others, whose wages might not immediately be considered low, the fight is to gain increases in line with inflation. It’s also to gain recognition that many workers in these sectors literally risked their lives during Covid-19 to keep the country’s lights on and to maintain basic lifeline services for the rest of us.

A large section of Celtic’s core supporter base is still drawn from many areas that feature near the top of the Scottish Index for Multiple Deprivation. Those who have been fortunate enough to make better lives for themselves still have deep connections with the places they and their families were reared. Their political, social and cultural outlook is still influenced by this.

It’s impossible to quantify this, of course, but I’d hazard a guess that more than half of Celtic’s regular home attendances are public sector employees. And very few of the rest will not be related to someone who has chosen to withdraw their labour in pursuit of a just package of pay and conditions.   

For the vast majority of supporters Celtic is an extension of their day-to-day lives. They are partly defined by their support for Celtic. The club is integral to the way they lead their lives and informs many of the choices they’ll make. When all other civic, cultural and political institutions fail, when relationships wither and die, Celtic will always be there.

Celtic Way:

And so, it’s perverse to suggest that they should be required to leave all of what happens elsewhere in their lives behind them when they go through the Parkhead turnstiles.

And besides, Celtic are probably alone among all of the world’s football clubs in being formed by politics. Other clubs such as Barcelona have become a focal point for political expression, but I can’t think of any that were formed specifically to meet the physical and spiritual needs of a community. How can you ask them to take politics out of their support for Celtic when the club arose directly from their political and cultural struggles to be treated as equals in a country that, at first, treated them with suspicion and contempt?

You might take the view that funding food kitchens in the east end of Glasgow is not a political act. But this was a response to the multi-deprivation, ignorance and outright hatred the Irish first faced when they arrived here. Many of them had only fled to Scotland to escape a famine which would claim more than one million lives. The refusal of the British Government to help them and the cruel and inhumane practices of the British landed gentry contributed to many of those deaths. Irish nationalism and Irish republicanism were cast in the flames of these twin evils.

It was inevitable then – and necessary – that Celtic would become a focus for their suffering and the source of hope for something better. In their darkest hours, every victory and triumph of this football club provided perhaps their only joyful moments.

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In 21st century Britain many of the social inequalities and injustices that disfigured the lives of the Glasgow Irish 136 years ago remain. The cost of living crisis following hard on the heels of Covid will disproportionately affect people in working-class neighbourhoods.

The inequalities have been worsened by a government which allows rich and powerful shareholders to suck massive profits from public utilities. Yet they can’t find the money to meet the modest demands of those who make those profits. Similarly, the UK Government are providing billions to maintain a NATO proxy war in Ukraine. Even the Scottish Government is chipping in with millions it can’t possibly afford for Ukraine simply to embellish Nicola Sturgeon’s international CV.

For fans like the Green Brigade, though, this isn’t merely about noble words and stirring songs. They match these with their actions throughout the year in raising hundreds of thousands of pounds for the neediest people in Glasgow through their foodbank collections.

The UK Government is currently seeking to dismantle trade union rights while the Scottish Government is seeking to undermine the right to free speech. Soon it may be that Parkhead on a matchday will be one of the few places where large public gatherings can fully express themselves without fear of punishment.

We should cherish the support for striking workers. They are me and you.