St Etienne follows Celtic in staging Palestine flag display

French football fans may be facing sanctions after staging a pro-Palestine flag display just a week after a similar protest by Celtic supporters.

By The Newsroom

26th Aug 2016, 3:09pm

Updated 26th Aug 2016, 4:14pm

Celtic fans provoked Uefa's ire by displaying Palestinian flags at their match against Hapoel Be'er Sheva. Picture: John Devlin

St Etienne could face a Uefa fine after displaying ‘illicit’ banners at their Europa League tie against Beitar Jerusalem at the Stade Geoffroy-Guichard.

Celtic are currently under investigation after fans displayed Palestine flags during the first leg of their Champions League play-off against Israeli side Hapoel Be’er Sheva.

The club may also be facing a partial ground closure.

Celtic fans reacted to the club’s Uefa fine by raising more than £140,000 for Palestinian charities.

Fans in St Etienne staged a pro-Palestine rally before the 0-0 draw that saw the French side progress to the group stages 2-1 on aggregate.

It comes after Beitar Jerusalem supporters unfurled giant banners to intimidate visiting French fans when St Etienne played in Jerusalem last week.

Beitar Jerusalem’s “La Familia” supporters’ group are known for their hardline anti-Arab views.

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