The increasingly untenable position of the Celtic Board | OneFootball

The divide between Celtic supporters and the club’s hierarchy deepened on Sunday at Firhill as protests escalated to a new level and this was demonstrated by a unanimous decision by all supporters groups to decline an invitation to meet with the club to discuss the report into policing at the Glasgow Derby at Celtic Park back in March…

Partick Thistle v Celtic. Premier Sports League Cup. Sunday 21 September. Photo Vagelis Georgariou (The Celtic Star)

A newly established organisation called the Celtic Fans Collective, bringing together supporter groups and fan media, has emerged as the leading outlet for frustration directed at the Celtic board.

The Collective has taken direct aim at chairman Peter Lawwell, CEO Michael Nicholson, CFO Chris McKay and the non-executive directors highlighting their weak leadership and their long-term failure to be transparent and open with supporters.

An open letter, backed by 420 supporter groups and fan media outlets, has remained ignored for weeks. During that period, protests inside both Rugby Park and Firhill have intensified, with fans staging late entrances, displaying banners and posters, and voicing their discontent in large numbers.

Celtic fan protest. Partick Thistle v Celtic. Premier Sports League Cup. Sunday 21 September. Photo Vagelis Georgariou (The Celtic Star)

On Monday evening, the Celtic Fans Collective shared a statement online, reflecting the depth of frustration felt among the fanbase.

Posting on X, it read: “1 charlatan Chairman. 2 incompetent Execs. 7 unanswered questions. 19 days of silence. 420 letter signatories. 3,000+ late entries v Kilmarnock. 5,000+ holding posters v Partick Thistle. The Celtic support is united, demanding answers and campaigning for change.”

Then last night the issued this update revealing that all the leading supporters groups – The Affiliation, AICSC, Bhoys Celtic, CDSA, the CSA and Green Brigade had all received an invitation from the club to attend a meeting regarding the policing of the Glasgow Derby back on 16 March.

The Collective adds: “After months of delay, the club is finally set to release the findings of the independent investigation by Fairhurst.”

“In conjunction with the Celtic Fans Collective, the supporter groups have unanimously voted to decline this invitation. Until Celtic FC signals an intention to answer all of the questions raised in the open letter and begin to engage positively with the wider support, we have no confidence in meeting with the club under the current leadership.”

Celtic fan protest ahead of the Partick Thistle v Celtic. Premier Sports League Cup. Sunday 21 September. Photo Vagelis Georgariou (The Celtic Star)

The Celtic Fans Collective has united over 50 supporter groups, combining fan associations with newer fan media platforms. It was formed to create a single, strong voice amid growing concerns that the club is being managed with cautious short-termism instead of a bold long-term vision.

Celtic’s financial results which were released last Friday highlighted – as expected – massive profits and record cash reserves which has led to yet more anger amongst the support.

For many supporters, the core issue is the huge cash reserves in the bank and underinvestment in the transfer market where the manager was quite clearly undermined.

Partick Thistle v Celtic. Premier Sports League Cup. Sunday 21 September. Photo Vagelis Georgariou (The Celtic Star)

Fans are standing together in calling for accountability. As the season gathers pace both domestically and, in the Europa League, the scrutiny on the Celtic board shows no sign of easing and absolutely won’t.

This is not going away and the best thing that can happen for the benefit of the club is for the Celtic Board to do as requested and answer the questions that the Celtic support have collective asked and collectively are waiting on answers.

What is unreasonable about that? The current strategy of the Celtic Board to completely ignore the Celtic support is untenable and has to change, the sooner the better…

Conor Spence