Celtic manager Martin O’Neill described the Green Brigade boycott announcement as ‘sad’ while condemning the recent protest from a section of supporters aimed at major shareholder Dermot Desmond during a golf tournament at St Andrews last week.
A shaky start to the season has led to more division between fans and the club’s hierarchy as protests continue. Ultras group the Green Brigade announced in a statement that they’ll be boycotting home Europa League matches and all Scottish Cup fixtures until a ‘positive change’ is made at the club.
The news came as a shock to O’Neill – who has been taking time over the three-week international break to reflect on his own future. With three successive defeats prior to the lay-off, including two against rivals Rangers, the pressure is building on the Hoops boss. Celtic face Motherwell at Fir Park this weekend as they seek to get back to winning ways.
O’Neill ‘sad’ to hear of Green Brigade boycott
Speaking ahead of the Lanarkshire clash, when asked about his reaction to the boycott, O’Neill responded: “I think it’s a really sad situation if that’s the case. Ian (Jamieson, Celtic communications manager) has just mentioned it to me before I came in, what you’ve just said. I wasn’t aware of that and it is sad but we went through it last season and what I will say is that when the club came together and it was really big.”
The Green Brigade are one of 23 supporter groups represented in the Celtic Fans Collective – who were blamed for an incident involving Desmond at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championships last week. A group of Celtic supporters covering their face took aim at the Irishman with tennis balls on the 15th green. The incident has led to back and forth statements between the club and the group.
St Andrews protest ‘not Celtic’ – O’Neill
O’Neill condemned the incidents of last week – and told supporters to take notes from Celtic’s exemplary fan behaviour in the 2003 UEFA Cup Final. He added: “I came into this situation this time last year and it seems to be going back to that again. I don’t agree at all with what happened up at St Andrews. I don’t agree with that at all. I think that is not Celtic. I mean, we derided Rangers in the [Scottish Cup] game for wearing balaclavas and then suddenly we’re doing it ourselves. This is not Celtic at all.
“The days of having 80,000 people in Seville without an arrest, that’s Celtic to me. Or the final whistle going in the last match of the season where the crowd come onto the pitch in a euphoric state. Those are phenomenal memories which I’ll never forget. At the end of it all, it is a sad situation and I think if I have, as a football manager, to go through all of that again, I don’t know. All I do know is that when the club were together towards the end of the season, I genuinely felt we were unbeatable.”
Be the first to comment