Saturday, 17 September 2022 | 8.9°C Belfast
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Banners on display during the Celtic (left) and Rangers (right) Champions League matches on Wednesday.
Celtic fans mocked the death of the Queen as they unfurled huge banners at last night’s match against Shakhtar Donetsk in Warsaw.
A lthough there was no minute’s silence ahead of the 1-1 Champions League clash in Warsaw, both Celtic and Shakhtar wore black armbands.
But the show of respect on the field was not repeated in the stands. A banner in the Celtic end stated “F*** the Crown” while another one said “Sorry for your loss Michael Fagan”, a reference to the intruder who broke into the Queen’s Buckingham Palace bedroom in 1982.
Early in the match, there was a chant of “If you hate the royal family, clap your hands”.
BT commentators apologised after cameras homed in on the Scottish fans.
Elsewhere, Rangers defied European football’s governing body, Uefa, and played the national anthem ahead of kick-off in their rearranged Champions League fixture against Napoli.
British clubs had requested to play the anthem as part of plans to honour both the Queen’s passing and the coronation of King Charles III, but Uefa rejected permission to do so.
Regardless, Gers fans held up cards to make a collage of the Union Flag with the Queen’s face in the centre — before the national anthem was belted out with gusto after the minute’s silence.
Meanwhile, former X Factor stars Jedward claimed that they have received death threats after calling for the monarchy to be abolished following the Queen’s death.
John and Edward Grimes (30) sparked a furious backlash over the weekend after sharing a series of controversial tweets just days after the passing of the Queen.
While tributes for the late Queen flooded in from across the globe, the Irish pop stars saw her death as a time for change. “Abolish the monarchy and give the people real democracy!!” they tweeted. They added: “King Charles should hand back the six Irish counties on his visit to Northern Ireland — No war! Just words! It’s time.”
Over 50,000 people liked their tweet, but Jedward have now revealed they’ve also received death threats.
“Psychos are sending us death threats! Your threatening behaviour and criminality will not intimidate us,” they wrote on the micro-blogging site.
They added “freedom of speech” alongside an image that read: “Not my King.”
That tweet started a trend on Twitter, as thousands of people reminded them: “You’re Irish” — although some nationalists in Northern Ireland agreed with the sentiment.
Among those who disagreed with the twin brothers was Coronation Street star Charlie Lawson. The 62-year-old Northern Irish actor, who played Jim McDonald in Corrie, made clear his feelings by responding: “Shut up y’pair of t**ts!!”
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