If this is not allowed then close immediately. Galgow Rangers and Glasgow Celtic ....

[Spafranco]

I have FSC on subscription and the other day I was watching Glasgow Celtic play Barcelona. Celtic won. Reading the after match comments it came back to me that there was a sectarian division between these clubs that until recently did not allow Catholics to play for Rangers or Protestants (I believe) to play for Celtic.
It would be easy to blame these teams as almost everyone I speak with here in the Sunny South, all believe, almost to a man that the violence is only in GB.

Well, ahem, round of applause, I have always loved football, and get 442. It had an article on Maccabi Haifa and Hapoel Tel Aviv. It is amazing. I forget which team had an arab player but the pressure exerted on him so much that he suffered panic disorder from the abuse and so much stress he was transferred. Hard to believe a nation of people who are descendants of those people involved in the holocaust should act as these clowns.

I would like to hear of other stories but don't bring up Hull City. I have three first cousins there and I hope they get automatic promotion.

[D-Type]

Rangers certainly had an embargo on Catholic players, to the extent that when they inadvertently signed a Catholic they immediately put him up for transfer. In recent years they did make a conscious effort to end the discrimination. Celtic never had a policy to not sign Protestants. I believe that certain Northern Irish clubs, shall we say, had a sectarian following but I'm not sure about in the Republic.

I've never heard of sectarian splits in European countries like Germany, and the Netherlands that had a population divided into Catholic and Protestant. I believe that in Belgium some clubs were definitely French-speaking or Flemish-speaking - but that wasn't religious. The various factions in the former Yugoslavia were split more by region than by religion although the two often went hand in hand.

I wonder if Muslim countries have a similar Sunni and Shia split, with clubs being restricted to one sect or the other?

[donKey jote]

Athletic Bilbao used to have a strict Basque only policy.
Brief history of Athletic Club: The Basque-only policy - The Offside - Athletic Club Bilbao blog (http://bilbao.theoffside.com/team-news/brief-history-of-athletic-club-the-basque-only-policy.html)

[odykas]

Celtic have the Jesus himself :p :

http://cache.images.globalsportsmedia.com/news/soccer/2013/3/6/306745header.jpg

[Malbec]

I wonder if Muslim countries have a similar Sunni and Shia split, with clubs being restricted to one sect or the other?

Its well known that the two Manchester teams have massive, almost fanatical support throughout the Muslim world.

Man Utd has got a large Sunni following while Man City are Shi'ite and they know they are!

[donKey jote]

:laugh:

[Alexamateo]

Jerusalem's FC Beitar signed two Muslim players from Russia in February and stirred a national controversy - Grantland (http://www.grantland.com/story/_/id/9066752/jerusalem-fc-beitar-signed-two-muslim-players-russia-february-stirred-national-controversy)

Here's an article about Beitar Jerusalem FC, who had never signed an Arab player,signed 2 Muslims from Chechnya last January.

[race aficionado]

Good for them. I hope they do well.