Why do (or did) Rangers fans have South African & Israel flags when they play against Celtic ?
As you know, Rangers supporters are generally Protestant and identify themselves with loyalists and unionists. Celtic supporters are generally Catholic and identify themselves with Irish republicanism. Each side copies the relevant flags and symbols used in Northern Ireland. I haven’t seen the South Africa flag being flown in loyalist areas supporters and I’d be very suprised if they did – I’ve seen it flown several times in republican areas – are you sure you’re not mistaking it for one of the loyalist paramiltary flags? The Palestinian flag is flown in republican areas because people in those areas identify with the struggle of the Palestinians. Loyalist areas fly the Israeli flag in response to this for annoyance value. BTW this brought about a very ironic situation a few years ago. Combat 18, the British fascist and racist organisation, support the loyalists and have tried unsuccessfully to organise themselves here. They objected strongly to the Israeli flags because their ideology
