Fans of the Scottish football team Glasgow Celtic just made a big statement in solidarity with Palestine.

Defying a ban by stadium officials, fans boldly waved Palestinian flags as the Scottish team competed against the Israeli team Hapoel Beer Sheva.

Activists with the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement organized the protest on Facebook through an event page titled " Fly the flag for Palestine, for Celtic, for Justice ." More than 1,000 people joined the page.

Prior to the match, activists handed out information about the 1948 Nakba and gave out flags to fans who wanted to participate. UEFA rules prohibit politics from entering stadiums and Glasgow Celtic may even face a fine for the fans actions, according to Mail Online .

The Facebook event page argues that Israeli clubs shouldn't even be allowed to participate in the competition under existing UEFA rules.

Source: Facebook
Source: Facebook

"When someone is representing Israeli state institutions it is sadly never merely a game, football, UEFA and Celtic FC are being used to whitewash Israel 's true nature and give this rogue state an air of normality and acceptance it should not and cannot enjoy until it's impunity ends and it is answerable to international law and faces sanctions for the countless UN resolutions it had breached," the page says.

"In support of the Palestinians we Celtic fans invoke our democratic rights to display our opposition to Israeli Apartheid, settler - colonialism and countless massacres of the Palestinian people, such as the one carried out in besieged Gaza in the summer of 2014 by showing the Palestinians and the world where we stand. We stand for justice, for freedom and end to all forms of racism and oppression."

According to reports, police threatened to arrest any fans who brought flags to the match.

Clearly, that didn't stop them.

Scotland does not officially recognize the statehood of Palestine. However, it was debated  in parliament as recently as last year, with most speakers supporting the motion. The session ended with no vote.