Celtic manager Martin O'Neill has condemned a protest against the club's largest shareholder, Dermot Desmond, saying "This is not Celtic at all." His comments follow a boycott announced by the Green Brigade, one of the ultras groups within the Celtic Fans Collective, which plans to stay away from Scottish Cup matches and home European ties.
The ultras group said: "The disconnect between those who control Celtic and those who support it has never felt greater." The protest came during the Alfred Dunhill Links golf tournament in St Andrews, where Desmond was targeted. In response, Celtic threatened an indefinite ban on anyone found to be involved in planning, facilitating or taking part in the incident. The club has also stopped recognising the Celtic Fans Collective as a representative body.
O'Neill said the situation felt familiar, noting he had faced similar anti-board sentiment when he arrived a year earlier. "I don't agree at all with what happened up at St Andrews," he said. He also pointed out that Celtic had criticised Rangers supporters for wearing balaclavas in last season's Scottish Cup game, only for some Celtic fans to do the same.
The Green Brigade rejected the club's statement as "another attack on supporters" and said its members had nothing to do with the St Andrews incident, while praising those responsible for the stunt, which involved throwing tennis balls. O'Neill described the boycott as "a really sad situation," but recalled happier days, including 80,000 fans in Seville for the 2003 UEFA Cup final without a single arrest. "That's Celtic to me," he said.
Source: BBC Sport Football · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing