Celtic have told supporters that some of the 267 Green Brigade members whose season tickets are suspended have now moved to distance themselves from the fan group.

The club have stressed in an email to fans that safety reasons were the main reason behind the Green Brigade ban – and not the waving of Palestine flags. Celtic have declared themselves open to communication with the ultras group, who were earlier denied tickets to away matches. They have also stressed that supporters will be refunded for matches they are not allowed to attend and that no Green Brigade members were ever notified they were getting tickets for Tuesday’s game against Atletico Madrid.

The mass suspension came after Celtic received two UEFA fines, for a pyrotechnic display at Feyenoord and an anti-fascist banner which contained “offensive” language towards Lazio in Italian. The club also cited supporters “rushing turnstiles and forcing open fire exits to permit access to individuals without tickets and pitch incursions” at Fir Park, “intimidating and threatening” behaviour towards stewards and staff, plus “unauthorised displays”.

The section which usually holds the Green Brigade during a cinch Premiership match between Celtic and St Mirren on November 1.

Thousands of supporters across Celtic Park defied club appeals as they displayed Palestine flags ahead of the Champions League clash with Atletico Madrid last month, a move which is likely to lead to UEFA sanctions. Some Palestine flags and a Green Brigade banner were also on show in Tuesday’s game in Madrid.

In an email to other season ticket holders, Celtic said the sanctions have “categorically not been imposed as a result of the display of Palestinian flags” but based on “very real safety concerns” resulting from the behaviour of the group. “Many of the behaviours have been going on for a considerable period of time, have resulted in previous actions in relation to the group, and are very well known to the group,” the email added.

The club declared that similar issues were discussed last season and emails were sent to the group over the course of September and October. Celtic said they were “disappointed with the attempts by the group not only to downplay the safety related behaviours, some of which the group has now publicly admitted, but also to conflate the reasoning behind the actions taken by the club with the use by supporters of Palestinian flags”.

“That is particularly so, when there is evidence of the group using banners and flags relating to or connected with terrorist organisations involved in the conflict in the Middle East,” the email added. “The club is working through a number of requests from amongst that 267 who no longer wish to be registered with the group and will continue to liaise directly with these individuals.”

Celtic also added that free tickets would be given to fans not normally able to attend matches while the situation continues. “Finally, as we have repeatedly communicated to representatives of the ‘Green Brigade’, the club remains open to communication and engagement on the wider matter with a view to returning to a situation where rules and regulations around operating safely are respected and complied with.”

Celtic v Green Brigade takes further twist with email: Members move away, previous actions, free tickets