Charity defends Celtic fans over '˜Shove your f*****g poppy up your a***' song

A general view of Celtic fans in the away end at Dundee. Picture: SNS Group

A section of the Hoops support who travelled to Dens Park for the club’s Ladbrokes Premiership match with Dundee were filmed singing: “You can shove your f*****g poppy up your a***.”

But although Poppyscotland branded the song “disrespectful,” the charity also praised the club for their generosity with donations and insisted it was just a minority of fans involved.

A spokesperson said: “While [the song] is clearly distasteful and disrespectful, we do not believe it represents the views of most Celtic fans, nor the club itself.

“Celtic have been incredibly generous in their support of Poppyscotland over many years.”

The video was widely condemned as it circulated on social media after the match, with less than two weeks until Remembrance Day.

SNP MSP James Dornan said the chanting was an “utter disgrace”, adding: “No matter what people think of the wearing of the poppy, they should remember that it is worn to commemorate people who fought and died.

“Common decency is the least they deserve.”

Police Scotland are probing a number of incidents from the match involving fans, including a flare being thrown onto the pitch.

A spokesperson said: “Police Scotland is aware of a number of incidents at the Dundee v Celtic match at Dens Park last night.

“While we can confirm that no arrests were made at the game or immediately afterwards, officers from the Football Co-ordination Unit for Scotland (FoCUS) are investigating the behaviour of supporters at the match, with a view to identifying those involved in criminal behaviour, and taking appropriate action in due course.”

Last year, a Celtic fan criticised his club for not commemorating war dead by wearing a poppy on their shirts, but the club’s controversy over the symbol goes back nearly a decade.

In November 2010, the Green Brigade unfurled two banners at a match against Aberdeen which read: “Your deeds would shame all the devils in Hell. Ireland, Iraq, Afghanistan. No bloodstained poppy on our Hoops.”

The fans group was protesting at a poppy being worn on the team’s kits during a match against St Mirren held on Remembrance Day.