The controversial Offensive Behaviour at Football Act could have been counterproductive, discriminates against fans and should be scrapped according to Celtic. The Celtic Football Club s l t k SELtik is a professional football club based in Glasgow, Scotland, which plays in the Scottish Premiership. Celtic F. C. supporters Wikipedia. The supporters of Celtic F. C., a Scottish football club, were estimated in 2. Numerous fan magazines and supporters websites are dedicated to the club, and there are in excess of 1. Celtic supporters have traditionally come from the Catholic population of Scotland and people of Irish background, but not exclusively. In 2. 00. 3, Celtic fans received awards from FIFA and UEFA for their exemplary fair and cordial conduct after 8. Seville for the 2. UEFA Cup Final. In 2. Celtic fans were awarded with the FIFA Fan Award for their tifo commemorating the 5. European Cup win. FanbaseeditCeltic F. C. was founded as a charity for poor Irish immigrants in Glasgow by Brother Walfrid, a Marist Brother originally from County Sligo, Ireland. Consequently, Celtic is strongly associated with Scotlands Irish Catholic community23 and have a significant number of supporters in Ireland and among members of the Irish diaspora elsewhere. Worldwide diasporaeditCeltic has developed a fanbase in a number of countries around the world, with over 1. Research in 2. 00. Capita Consulting in conjunction with the Cranfield Institute estimated the worldwide fan base as being around nine million. This fanbase has extended to Japan since 2. Japanese international Shunsuke Nakamura joined the club,6 although the Tokyo Celtic Supporters Club had already been established in 2. In 2. 00. 9, marketing agency Sports Revolution reported that there were an estimated seven million Celtic supporters in Japan alone. There are Celtic supporters clubs in South Korea,9 Sweden1. Croatia, Germany, Denmark and Norway1. Kenya has been boosted by a team in Nairobi. Kibera Celtic, who were inspired by Celtics charitable roots and use the profits from football to fund charitable initiatives in Kenya and throughout Africa. After the signing of Emilio Izaguirre in 2. Hector Zelaya, the general manager of Izaguirres former club Motagua, said that Izaguirre had sparked Celtic mania in Honduras and that many people now supported them. Germany head coach Joachim Low says he was full of rage over Naziera chants by some fans at their World Cup Qualifier against Czech Republic. Leicester have condemned a small section of supporters who are alleged to have sung homophobic chants against Brighton. In 2. 00. 3 it was estimated that Celtic had a fanbase of one million in the United States and Canada. In 2. Rangers F. C. Hugh Adam claimed that Celtic were the best supported football club in North America and that the clubs Irish connection was a determinant factor in their popularity. In 2. 00. 4, The Sunday Times, when commentating on several European teams who were touring in the U. S at the time, stated that clubs such as Chelsea, Real Madrid and Manchester United attracted support in the United States only when touring the country. Jakers Las Aventuras De Piggley Winks. In contrast, Celtic were said to have such a strong pre existing relationship with a huge expatriate following here that their support will endure. There are around 8. Celtic supporters clubs in North America,4 and nearly half of all U. JPG_500/MI0002/554/MI0002554530.jpg?partner=allrovi.com' alt='Celtic Fc Chants' title='Celtic Fc Chants' />S states have a Celtic supporters club. Celtic have also developed supporters clubs in Australia and elsewhere in the Southern Hemisphere. AttendanceeditCeltics home stadium is Celtic Park, located in Parkhead in the East End of Glasgow. It is the sixth largest stadium in the United Kingdom and the largest football stadium in Scotland. Celtic Parks capacity has been 6. Celtic Parks average attendance for the 2. Celtic Fc Chants' title='Celtic Fc Chants' />Scottish football and the twelfth highest in Europe. Celtics highest average attendance over the last ten seasons was 5. Over the next three seasons Celtics average attendance remained above 5. The Scottish Cup Final in 1. Celtic and Aberdeen at Hampden Park was watched by a crowd of 1. Europe. 1. 9 In 1. Celtics home leg of their two legged European Cup semi final tie against Leeds United was played at Hampden Park to accommodate the expected large attendance. A 1. 36,5. 05 crowd watched Celtic win 21 on the night,2. European club tie that stands to this day. The clubs large travelling support make Celtic a popular choice of opponent for English based footballers to select for testimonial matches. EF100000578-188_468x376.jpg' alt='Celtic Fc Chants' title='Celtic Fc Chants' />Over 5. Celtic supporters turned for Peter Beardsleys testimonial match at St James Park, Newcastle, in January 1. An estimated 1. 5,0. Celtic supporters attended at Old Trafford for the testimonials of Bryan Robson in November 1. Ryan Giggs in August 2. UEFA Cup FinaleditIn 2. Celtic reached the UEFA Cup Final, with the match ending 32 to FC Porto. An estimated 8. 0,0. Celtic supporters travelled to Seville for the occasion. Celtic fans received awards from UEFA and FIFA for their loyal and sporting behaviour at the match. Upon handing the award to Celtic fans FIFA president Sepp Blatter described them as being the greatest in the world3. The massive travelling support that followed Celtic over to Seville to watch them in the final became known as The Bhoys from Seville. Old Firm rivalryeditCeltics traditional rivals are Rangers collectively, the two clubs are known as the Old Firm. The two have dominated Scottish footballs history between them, they have won the Scottish league championship 1. The rivalry between the teams has various ethnic, religious and political associations, in that Celtic are associated with Irish Catholic origins3. Rangers with Scotlands Protestant and British Unionist communities. A report prepared for Glasgow City Council in 2. Celtic supporters described themselves as Roman Catholic and 1. Protestant. For Rangers supporters, the figures were 5 and 6. The clubs have attracted the support of opposing factions in the political difficulties of Northern Ireland, which intensified the rivalry in Scotland. Anti sectarian charity Nil by Mouth notes that some supporters use songs, chants and banners on match days to express abuse or support towards the Protestant or Catholic faiths and proclaim support for Northern Irish based terrorist groups such as the IRA and UVF. A study in 2. 00. University of Strathclyde found that the Old Firm rivalry was strongly linked to the conflict in Northern Ireland. There have been 4. Old Firm matches played as of 2. The games have been described as having an atmosphere of hatred, religious tension and intimidation which continues to lead to violence in communities across Scotland. The rivalry has fuelled many assaults and even deaths on Old Firm Derby days. Admissions to hospital emergency rooms have been reported to increase ninefold over normal levels4. Franklin Foer noted that in the period from 1. Glasgow were directly linked to Old Firm matches, and hundreds of assaults. Occurrences of serious crowd trouble between Celtic and Rangers supporters stretches as far back as the 1. Scottish Cup Final, which was contested by the two sides. The tie went to a replay after the first match ended in a 22 draw. The replayed match also ended in a draw 11 after 9. Despite public expectations, no extra time was played and in response thousands of supporters from both sides invaded the pitch to vent their frustration, causing 1. Both clubs petitioned the Scottish Football Association to have the tie abandoned and their demands were met when officials decided the match would not be replayed. The cup and all medals were withheld for that year. Both sets of fans fought an on pitch battle in the aftermath of Celtics 10 victory in the 1. Scottish Cup Final at Hampden Park. In January 1. 98.