BT Sport is CLEARED by Ofcom after airing footage of Celtic fans displaying an offensive ‘F*** the Crown’ banner just six days after the Queen died
- Celtic fans sparked outrage with offensive banners at Champions League clash
- Scottish supporters also chanted ‘if you hate the royal family, clap your hands’
- BT Sport was forced to apologise after showing images of banner last month
- An investigation by regulator Ofcom cleared BT Sport of any wrongdoing
BT Sport has been cleared by TV watchdog Ofcom after they aired footage of Celtic fans displaying an offensive banner about the Queen’s death.
The incident happened at the start of the Parkhead club’s Champions League tie against Shakhtar Donetsk in the Polish capital Warsaw last month.
Disgraceful Celtic fans mocked the Queen’s death with a banner that read ‘F*** The Crown’ and chants of ‘if you hate the royal family, clap your hands’.
Celtic fans unveiled the offensive banner just before their Champions League clash with Ukrainian side Shakhtar Donetsk, with BT Sport forced to apologise after honing in on it at the game played in Warsaw.
The broadcaster’s panned to the section of the Polish Army Stadium where 2,000 Celtic fans were seated and the offensive banner was shown.
Celtic fans mock the Queen’s death with a banner at their Champions League tie with Shakhtar Donetsk in Warsaw last month, sparking outrage
Ofcom received several complaints after the offensive banner was shown during the Champions League clash in Warsaw, Poland. Pictured are Celtic fans with their banners
BBC Sport apologised for the incident during their coverage of the match, which was played just six days after the death of the monarch.
However, Ofcom reviewed the footage after 23 people complained to the broadcasting regulator that it breached ‘generally accepted standards’.
They have now ruled it did not raise issues that warranted an official investigation under the Broadcasting Code.
Following the incident BT Sport commentator Rob MacLean said: ‘Apologies if anyone has taken offence to anything seen in the early minutes.’
All UK teams playing home or away were allowed to hold a one-minute silence as a mark of respect for the Queen, who died last month.
But following a pre-match meeting between Celtic, Shakhtar and Uefa, it was decided there would be no silence before kick-off. Players from both teams did wear black armbands in Her Majesty’s memory.
However, the sentiment clearly wasn’t shared by an element of the travelling Celtic support.
As the Champions League anthem was being played another banner was unfurled that also mocked the death of the Queen. It read: ‘Sorry for your loss Michael Fagan.’
As the Champions League anthem was played, Celtic fans unfurled a banner saying ‘Sorry for your loss Michael Fagan’
Fagan famously managed to scale the Buckingham Palace walls before creeping into Her Majesty’s bedroom while she slept in 1982. The then painter and decorator spent around 10 minutes talking to the monarch about his family. The Queen thought Fagan was just a drunk member of staff, who was eventually tackled by a duty footman.
Earlier this month, Celtic were fined £13,000 by Uefa due to banners which were displayed by supporters at the match.
UEFA’s control, ethics and disciplinary body said the punishment was for “a message not fit for a sporting event (ie. a provocative banner)”.
No minute’s silence was held at the match although both Celtic and Shakhtar players did wear black armbands in the Queen’s memory.
Ofcom said: ‘After careful assessment, Ofcom has decided not to pursue the complaints because they did not raise issues warranting investigation.’
