Disputes between supporters and Celtic officials nothing new

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The Celtic Star

·4 octobre 2025

Disputes between supporters and Celtic officials nothing new

This Sunday, the Celts face Motherwell in what was going to be the latest stage of the anti-Board campaign being waged by many Celtic fans. However, for now at least, these protests have been called off ahead of a Monday meeting…

Recently, arguments between supporters and club officials have dominated the Celtic world. In fact, even going back to Celtic’s earliest days, such divides were not unknown. Since the 1880s, there have been numerous instances of arguments between fans and those in charge of the club.

This article describes what happens when the fixture being played is Celtic versus the Celtic fans.

Vidéos OneFootball

From the Bhoys’ foundation, there were examples of discord between the club’s committee and supporters too. This almost led to the establishment of a rival team!

Celtic were set up to provide charity for poor children in Glasgow’s east end, although there were religious and political influences as well in the early years. However, many people believed that the club soon forgot about these roots. There were regular complaints in the local Catholic press that the club was spending too much on the team and ground and not enough on the poor.

Famously, the Glasgow Observer – a Catholic newspaper – published an editorial attacking the men running Celtic saying “Can we not get a club that will carry out the original idea of Brother Walfrid?”

Some others looked enviously eastwards at Edinburgh Hibernian, who they believed had a strong Irish Catholic identity, thinking that Celtic should copy this. For instance, in the early years of Hibernian – up to their 1893 revival – only Catholic men could play for them.

This eventually resulted in a new Irish team being set up, not far from Celtic Park. Glasgow Hibernian’s goal was to challenge and overtake Celtic in the hearts of the Glasgow Irish. However, most supporters still backed the Celts and the new Hibs team lasted little more than a year before collapsing amidst financial problems and legal battles.

In the early days, it was not simply political issues that led to fan disputes, there were also arguments that echo many modern day complaints. For instance, supporters groups argued with the Celtic committee about the prices being charged for tickets. At different times there were even threats of boycotts in relation to these matters.

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Famously, the early Celtic supporters’ clubs were known as ‘brake clubs’, named after the horse-and-carriage transport that was used to transport fans to game. Although these clubs were popular with many, they also had a negative reputation due to various issues, and this brought them into conflict with the club.

There are multiple examples to be found of brake clubs being involved in violent incidents, whether they started this trouble or were simply defending themselves from attacks by other groups. Other people claimed about the songs, alcoholism and general rowdiness associated with brake clubs. Newspapers often ran stories about members of these organisations ending up in court.

As a result of this, many Celtic officials wished to disassociate themselves from these fans. In particular, legendary manager Willie Maley was scathing of them. In the early-1920s, he opined that: “The war fever is dying out of men’s blood. I feel sure that by next season we shall be rid of the brake club hooligan, against whom all sporting men’s hands should be turned.”

He went further, describing those fans as being “The greatest blot that has ever soiled Scottish football.”

Willie Maley, Celtic manager

Strong language from the club’s longest serving manager, showing his strength of feeling on the issue. Of course, it is worth noting that there were likely a great many issues on which Celtic’s manager and the club’s fans disagreed, given his known support for the monarchy, for instance.

Maley was an imposing figure, and this was shown in how he dealt directly with fan abuse. On one occasion, a Celtic fan screamed threats at a referee. In response, the Celtic manager challenged the supporter to a fight, which thankfully did not actually happen!

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It is not simply Willie Maley that has often expressed opposition towards the actions of Celtic fans. At various times in the years following World War Two, supporters were criticised for the same ills that the brake clubs were said to have caused, including violence and drunkenness. Once more, contemporary newspapers provide numerous examples of fan arrests for such actions.

In particular, the topic of fan songs and political opinions as expressed on the terraces led to more division between supporters and the clubs. In another issue which is still evident in the current era, the Board and manager criticised many Celts for their choice of musical support.

Jock Stein, Celtic’s greatest manager – of course from a Protestant background – was known to condemn political chants and gestures. After the Ibrox disaster he remarked: “This terrible tragedy must help to curb the bigotry and bitterness of Old Firm matches. When human life is at stake this kind of hatred seems sordid and little.”

The use of the matchday programme to deliver warnings to Celtic supporters was a fairly common occurrence. It can be found in multiple programmes going back to the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. For example, in 1974, Stein wrote that:

“In recent weeks we have had a revival of songs and chants which are offensive to all decent people attending football matches. Celtic Football Club have frequently condemned this intolerable behaviour and past warnings have had some effect, but only of a temporary nature.

“It is now our intention to weed out the persistent culprits with the help of the police so that all decent Celtic supporters, as well as visitors and neutrals, can attend games at Celtic Park without embarrassment.”

One issue which has regularly seen Celtic fans – and indeed all football supporters – receive criticism relates to alcohol. Newspaper editorials in the 1960s and 70s regularly condemned the drinking culture which existed amongst football fans, especially when this spilled over into violence.

At various times, Celtic have also censured their fans for this, especially when it has resulted in political threats against football. Arguably the most famous of these came following the 1980 Scottish Cup Final when an on-field riot resulted in alcohol being banned from Scottish grounds.

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By the time the 1990s arrived, there were numerous issues which split the club and fans, with the attacks and criticisms going both ways.

The most obvious of these came in the form of ‘Sack the Board’ protests. By the early-1990s, Celtic were in disarray on and off the park. In a playing sense, they were well behind not simply Rangers but also various other teams in Scotland. And the club’s financial position was precarious at best.

Numerous fan protests took place against the Board. This started with the ‘Save our Celts’ campaign but later expanded into the ‘Celts for Change’ group. These organisations participated in various actions such as marches and media stunts, to say nothing of the ‘Sack the Board’ refrain which was sung regularly.

However, it was not simply the supporters that attacked the Board; Celtic’s ‘custodians’ in turn had their own criticisms of the different protests. One senior Board member famously described people opposed to the current regime as being “Malcontents.” It was suggested that people engaging in Celtic protests were not true fans.

Of course, Fergus McCann eventually removed the old Board from power. The story of McCann is a fascinating one in terms of how supporter opinions can change. Initially, he was very popular for having ousted the previous regime. However, he soon became the target of fan ire on different issues. And nowadays he is often given a status akin to Brother Walfrid in Celtic’s history.

Other than complaints about club spending, the issue which caused most arguments between McCann and some Celtic fans related to the songs which were sung in the stands. He famously started the Bhoys against Bigotry campaign. Launched in 1996, these efforts tried to shift Celtic away from association with nationalist Irish politics.

The move was unpopular with many and helped foster the negative views that some supporters had towards McCann, even leading to him being booed when unfurling the 1998 League flag.

Like now, this was something which divided the support, and others associated with the club. Tommy Burns was part of the campaign and once commented that he had “noticed a huge reduction in sectarian singing at Parkhead” but in later years said he was not comfortable with the scheme.

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In the 21st century, there have been multiple examples of disputes between Celtic supporters and the Board. In the main, this continues to be about the football team, for instance, with fans believing not enough is being spent on the team, and complaints about ticket prices.

However, since the year 2000, arguably the principal cause of disputes between the club and some supporters has been in relation to politics. Many Celtic fans back causes such as Irish Republicanism, anti-monarchy views and also support for Palestine. These can be expressed in different ways, including songs and banners.

These topics can divide the support, but the official Celtic position has been to criticise such actions. Following one banner which was displayed in relation to the tragic events in Gaza, a Celtic statement slammed the sign, saying Celtic “disassociate themselves from them”, adding that “political messages and banners are not welcome at Celtic Park.”

Before this, it was the issue of the Poppy that previously caused division. Some Celtic supporters dislike the Poppy for its association with the British Army’s actions around the world, outwith the two World Wars.

When a Poppy was worn on the club’s shirt in 2010, it provoked a furore. A fan banner attacked this move. It read: “Ireland, Iraq, Afghanistan: no bloodstained Poppy on our Hoops.” In turn Celtic officially apologised for the supporters’ actions. This began what feels like an annual set of arguments as November comes around each year.

And sometimes the arguments are not down to fan opinions but instead actions. In recent years, the issue of pyro displays at football has caused controversy. This is true across most clubs, with the matter often highlighting generational divides in the support. There have been fines and threats of other punishments for this, which has again led the club to criticise or warn supporters.

The reality is that no large organisation will ever have uniform views. The only thing that everyone involved with Celtic agrees on is that they want the Bhoys to win.

Outwith this, there are so many issues where fans can argue amongst themselves, or with the people in charge of the club. And the reality is that this is not a new phenomenon; from almost the very moment that Celtic were founded, there are examples of arguments between the club and its fans.

Some people use the term ‘Celtic family’ to talk about everyone involved with the club.

You can debate if this is really true. But if it is, then the honest answer is that real families don’t always get on, so why should the Celtic one be any different?

Matthew Marr

If you want to learn more about Celtic history, follow Hail Hail History on Twitter/X. You can also take part in a FREE Celtic history walking tour. Visit celticwalkingtours.wordpress.com for more information.

Matthew’s debut Celtic book titled ‘The Bould Bhoys – Glory to their name’ was published by Celtic Star Books last year and is available to order HERE. This brilliant book is also available on Amazon Kindle for just £3.49 and includes all photo sections that appear in the hardback edition.

Matthew Marr with his debut Celtic book, Glory to their name, which tells the story of Celtic’s first ever title win. Photo The Celtic Star

Celtic in the Thirties by Celtic Historian Matt Corr is published in two volumes by Celtic Star Books.

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