Robbie Keane’s year in Israel sparks Celtic fan backlash amid possible return | OneFootball

Robbie Keane’s prospective return to Celtic has provoked opposition from sections of the support, centred on his spell at Maccabi Tel Aviv. According to L'Équipe, he is a leading candidate to take charge this summer.

A joint statement from 67 fan groups, including the Green Brigade, the Bhoys Celtic, Glasgow University CSC and the Craigneuk Tommy Gemmell CSC, warned that such a move would split the club and urged the board to reconsider.

They cited Celtic’s history of solidarity with Palestinians and said Keane’s management of Maccabi Tel Aviv from July 2023 to his resignation in June 2024, during what they described as a genocide in Gaza, could not be overlooked.

Keane scored 16 goals in 19 games for Celtic in 2010. The board appear to have begun talks over his possible appointment.

He arrived in Israel before the Hamas attack of 7 October 2023 and Israel’s subsequent offensive in Gaza. He later said he delayed leaving out of a duty of care to staff who had followed him. He chose to see out the season rather than abandon them and said he forfeited a lucrative one or two year extension.

He has since led Ferencvaros to the Europa League last 16 and won the Hungarian Cup in the season just past.

Source: L'Équipe