Pro-Palestine protesters picketed outside Hampden Park on Sunday afternoon ahead of the Scottish League Cup final.
Several dozen activists gathered near the stadium’s East Stand on Sunday to voice opposition to the Scottish Football Association’s recent naming rights deal with banking giant Barclays.
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Demonstrators have claimed that Barclays is funding ‘genocide’ in Gaza due to its financial links to the state of Israel, which the bank strongly denies.
Protestors held a range of banners. (Image: Supplied)
Ahead of the match between St Mirren and Celtic, activists held signs reading ‘End the Genocide of Gaza’s Medics’ and ‘Show Israeli Genocide the Red Card’.
SFA chief executive Ian Maxwell has praised the £10m deal, which will see the national stadium christened as Barclays Hampden.
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He said: “In the course of the conversations we’ve had over the past few months, Barclays’ desire to support Scottish football – across the levels – has been clear.”
“The impact of their investment will be felt within the walls of Barclays Hampden and far beyond – not least helping fuel the kind of programmes we run that harness the power of football and make an everyday impact in Scottish society.”
Protestors hit out at the SFA decision naming rights deal. (Image: Supplied)
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However, activists have hit back at the SFA.
Writing in The Herald, protest organiser Maree Shepherd previously said that fans should boycott the cup final in protest over the deal.
She wrote: “The SFA have questions to answer about why this miserable deal, which will surely do relatively little for investment into Hampden Park or the game in Scotland, was accepted without consultation with fans.
“The only way the SFA will listen is through reputational and financial damage and we have the power to collectively make a difference through boycotting ‘Barclays Hampden.”
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Barclays has defended financing arms companies. In a statement on their website, the firm said: “The anti-defence movement criticises Barclays for financing defence manufacturers.
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“We are a bank which, like others in the UK, provides financial services to companies which, in many cases, make defence equipment alongside their civilian products.
“These companies are an important contributor to our national security and at a time of increasing geopolitical instability, we don’t think taking away these services is the right thing to do.”
