Andy C

The most shameful football transfer of all time Football has seen its fair share of controversial transfers. Luis Figo from Barcelona to Real Madrid. Roberto Baggio from Fiorentina to Juventus. Sol Campbell from Tottenham to Arsenal. Carlos Tevez from Manchester United to Manchester City. All can be explained by either sporting ambition or money, or both. Celtic: A Judenrein club The transfer of Liel Abada from Celtic to Charlotte FC in the MLS is the most shameless transfer of all time. One for the history books. A transfer that shames and tars Celtic as a Judenrein club forever. Liel Abada signed for Celtic from Maccabi Petach Tikva in July 2021 for a fee of close to 4 million pounds. Abada enjoyed a strong first season at Celtic, winning the PFA Young Player of the Year Award for 21/22. The following season saw Abada really emerge as a key player for Celtic. Winning the treble as a key man, scoring a brace against Rangers in the Old Firm and in January 2023 Abada was named by UEFA as one of the best 40 young players on the continent. From hero to zero in one month In September 2023, Celtic to some fanfare, announced a new four-year contract for Abada and this was greeted with delight by the club's support. Then came October 7, 2023. Black Sabbath. Celtic fans have long been supporters of the Palestinian cause. But on this infamous day, the Scottish club’s Green Brigade covered themselves in complete shame. As Israelis were being massacred in their homes and at a music festival, Parkhead held up banners that said “Victory to the Resistance”. The Green Brigade are Hamas supporters There is no room for interpretation here. As Hamas raped, murdered and kidnapped babies, Celtic fans celebrated the Jihadist death cult. Abada was out injured and did not play in the Celtic vs Kilmarnock game on 7/10 but he voiced his displeasure to the board of the Scottish club. When he did return from injury, Abada looked a shadow of the player that had scored 10 and assisted 5 the previous season. Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers publicly defended Abada and explained the poor form but crucially and in true egotistical style, thought he could turn things around for one of Celtic’s best attackers. Rodgers and Celtic did not allow Abada to leave in the January transfer window. A huge error for all parties. "End Zionism" at an SPL game vs Kilmarnock There were two final nails in the coffin for Abada’s career at Celtic and both of them paint the club in even further bad light. On February 17, 2024, in another home game against Kilmarnock, Parkhead was festooned with another banner. This one was longer. But the key shocking words included were “End Zionism”. As if that wasn’t bad enough. Israeli reports - denied in Scotland obviously - confirm that Abada no longer felt safe to walk the streets of Glasgow. This came after he was attacked by his own fans. With the transfer window closed, Abada told Celtic he would no longer play for the club. With Europe cut off for a player that should have been moving to the Premier League, Serie A or La Liga, the MLS was Abada’s only option. Charlotte FC are the only real winners here. Not a glamorous team in the MLS, Charlotte FC have a player they will need to nurture back to form, but at least Abada is young, unlike most of the players that join the American top flight from Europe. For Celtic this is a transfer that marks the club as Judenrein. So bewildered were Celtic fans over Abada’s poor form when he did return from injury they started investigating whether the Jewish Israeli attacker was a Zionist. A transfer that costs Celtic on the pitch & in the pocket Celtic are in a tight title race with bitter rivals Rangers and can’t utilize Abada due to their fans' clueless knowledge of Middle East politics. Abada has joined Charlotte for around 8 million pounds. Jota, a Portuguese attacker, left Celtic for 25 million pounds last summer. Had Abada produced another decent season at Celtic and with a long contract, this is the minimum Celtic would have expected. Instead, Celtic are left with a poorer squad, less money for a star player and the reputation of a fanbase that is simply anti-semitic. I have criticized Celtic a lot on X in recent weeks and it has been simply incredible how clueless these fans all are about the situation here in the Middle East. Of course, they have never put up banners for the innocents in Syria, Sudan and Yemen. This. Is. Anti-Semitic. The bottom line here is that Celtic fans by arguing for “Victory to the resistance” and “End Zionism” are not actually bringing any solutions. They are arguing for more death and destruction. The Celtic board failed to protect one of their most important assets. Both the Scottish Premier League and UEFA failed to protect Abada. And, let's not forget that UEFA have not only failed Abada. Sagiv Yechezkel remains without a club after being sacked by Antalyaspor. Yechezkel’s crime? Making a gesture of support for the Israeli hostages in Gaza in January. Since Antalyaspor sacked Yechezkel they have been in woeful form. Without the Israeli winger they have dropped down the league at an alarming rate. Yet another European club to lose out on finances for a talented Israeli. A move that has actively hampered them on the pitch. Where are UEFA? European football’s governing body has totally failed both Abada and Yechezkel. In 1962, double European Cup winner Bela Guttman, a Holocaust survivor, was sacked by Benfica. There remains much debate over whether Guttman did really put a 100-year trophy curse on Benfica, but they have not won one since. Liel Abada’s departure to Charlotte FC marks the most shameful act in Celtic’s 137-history. Their last European trophy came in 1967 and it seems safe to say it will be another 200 hundred years before Celtic claim anything on the continent. And, it will be deserved. Liel Abada from Celtic to Charlotte FC is the most shameful football transfer of all time.