WATCH: Celta Vigo lauded for response to fascist songs from Real Betis fans | OneFootball

Real Betis had a frustrating defeat last weekend to Celta Vigo,  giving up a lead and conceding in the final ten minutes to lose away to Celta Vigo. However the Galician side had a parting gift for the Real Betis fans too.

Celta authored an incredible comeback from two goals down, after Antony and Diego Llorente had put the Andalusian side in front early on. Fran Beltran’s wondergoal was followed by goals from Javier Rodriguez and a winner from Williot Swedberg in the 83rd minute, which was met with a rapturous reaction by Balaidos.

Image via El Pespunte

Betis had brought a traveling support, but unfortunately it was dominated by fascists, as explained by Cadena SER. The away fans were heard singing ‘Caras al Sol’ [Faces to the sun], a fascist song that was popular under Spanish dictator Francisco Franco, whose terrible reign ended in 1975. They were also seen making Nazi salutes during the game, while they were dressed in black rather than Betis colours.

Their reprehensible promotion of fascism did not go unnoticed by the staff at Celta Vigo, who added two songs to the stadium repertoire in response. During the half-time break, the popular anti-fascist Italian song ‘Bella Ciao’ was played over the speakers. At full-time, with the Betis fans now crestfallen following the result, ‘Grandola, Vila Morena’ sounded as the Betis fans waited to be allowed to leave the stadium by the authorities.

The latter is a popular anti-fascist song in Portugal, a neighbour of the region of Galicia where Vigo is located, and the images made headlines to the south. Outlets such as O Jogo, B24 and A Bola all reported on it in Portugal, and the video has gone viral. The song, originally composed by Jose Afonso, was one of the anthems of the ‘Carnation Revolution’, a military coup in 1974 that ended the dictatorship of Antonio de Oliveira Salazar in Portugal, and restored democracy.