The minute’s applause had been staged after home side St. Mirren chose to pay tribute to the late monarch, but Celtic fans unfurled a banner reading ‘If you hate the Royals, clap’ and chanted the same words throughout the project. tribute.
Sky, which was broadcasting the match, confirmed to CNN that it had muted the stadium microphones to limit the audibility of chants during its broadcast of the applause of the minute.
After the applause ended, commentator Ian Crocker said, “Apologies if you were offended by anything you might have heard. Most people showed respect, some didn’t.”
It is the second time this week that groups of Celtic supporters have expressed anti-royal sentiments, with the club currently under investigation by European football governing body UEFA after posting a banner reading “F**k the crown” during Wednesday’s Champions League. game against Shakhtar Donetsk.
CNN contacted the Scottish Professional Football League and Celtic FC for comment, but did not immediately get a response.
Although Celtic is based in Scotland, its traditions have been intertwined with those of the anti-monarchist Irish Republicans since its founding with the aim of alleviating the poverty of Glasgow’s Irish Catholic immigrant population in the 1880s.
Its rival Crosstown Rangers, meanwhile, have traditionally been more aligned with Protestantism and royalist unionism, deepening the antagonism between the two sides.
The Scottish FA, football’s governing body in the country, told CNN it has “no jurisdiction over the behavior of fans at league matches”.
The boos during the minute’s silence were also audible at other Scottish Premiership matches over the weekend.
