Glasgow – Police are investigating a so-called Celtic fan who
said gassing was “too good” for the club’s Israeli midfielder Nir Bitton.
Student Daniel Yahia also described Bitton as “a filthy Zionist rat” and
claimed: “Zionists are subhuman.”
His outburst emerged as Celtic prepare to take on Israeli side Hapoel
Be’er Sheva in next week’s play-off for a place in the Champions League group
stage.
Yahia studies history and politics at Edinburgh University.
Many Celtic supporters back the Palestinian cause but his rant will
horrify decent fans.
He
wrote on Facebook: “Sick of seeing Celtic fans creaming themselves over Nir
Bitton.
“We are a club open to all, but by
‘all’ we mean humans. Zionists are subhuman and Nir Bitton is a filthy Zionist
rat.”
One
of Yahia’s friends, who called himself Podge Mullan, then suggested that Bitton
should be “gassed”.
Yahia
replied: “Be too good for him mate.
“Expose him to the worst torture the
Israeli Defence Force uses on young Palestinian kids, see how much of a man he
is then. Scumbag.”
Yahia has spouted hate about Bitton before. He tweeted on July 21: “Would Hamas be interested in taking Bitton off our hands?”
His latest comments were deleted, but not before they had been shared on social media and several complaints had been made to police.
Holocaust survivor Agnes Grunwald-Spier MBE, who escaped the Nazis as a baby in Hungary, said Yahia’s comments had been sent to her on social media and “can only be described as hate speech”.
The Record understands Yahia is not a Celtic season ticket holder but the club are aware of his comments and monitoring the situation.
Police said they had been told of the rant and inquiries were ongoing.
A spokeswoman for Edinburgh University said: “The university takes matters of this nature extremely seriously and will take action whenever appropriate.”
Questioned about his outburst by Edinburgh student newspaper The Tab, Yahia said he had targeted Bitton because he was a Zionist, not because of his nationality or religion. He added: “Though my words were intemperate and perhaps a little much, they were not racist.”
