Incidents, Events & Controversies | About Celtic
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Date (started): September 2025
Summary
“You can shove your Coronation up your arse!”
Celtic fans chant
Fatboab of KDS 2025:
The Celtic Board of Directors have overseen the shambolic appointment and second tenure of Neil Lennon, the abject surrender of the League Title in the most important season since 2003 at least, the complete mismanagement of the recruitment process to finally replace Lennon, including the Eddie Howe saga, and now the appointment and “mutual separation” of a new CEO , and all this in the space of the last 15-18 months.
You could throw in the sudden and unwelcome departure of Brendan Rogers if you want to go back just a bit further for another example of a non-conformer being outed.
All of these are the responsibility of our Board of Directors. It’s not a great look.
During the summer, there was a real movement amongst the fans to try to bring change to the club. The appointment of Dom McKay, while met with cautious optimism at the time given his background, did seem to indicate that we were ready to embrace change and welcome a new future with a modern approach to the business of football. Promises of a new direction kept the fan rebellion off the back pages and a new and exciting style of play under the new Manager further quelled the growing unrest on social media and in the stadium .
All of that was thrown in the scrap heap yesterday, and the swift action to replace McKay with yet another inner sanctum member tells us all we need to know about the intentions of Dermot Desmond and his merry band of lickspittles.
We are in disarray. Nothing changes until it all changes. The Chairman and the Board of Directors should stand aside now.
BACK THE TEAM, SACK THE BOARD.
[….]
Pictures
Links
Quotes
“I’d like to say thanks to the Celtic Board, I’ve not seen the fans this united in a common goal in a long long time…”
Bellshill Tim on Bluesky (Sep 2025)
A Manifesto for Positive Change at Celtic:
– Appoint DOF & restructure football ops
– Fans rep on the board
– Separate business & football ops
– 5-yr cap on non-execs
– 10-yr vision for the club
– Sack the Sun rat
– Back the team & win the league
Who’s with me? HH
[…]
Articles
Irate fans & upset boss – how did Celtic get here?
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/articles/c3363rly6klo
Celtic fans hold up bannersImage source, SNS
Richard Winton
BBC Sport Scotland
Martin Watt
BBC Sport Scotland
Published
2 September 2025
Celtic’s business in this transfer window “reeks of incompetence”. It’s an “absolute embarrassment”. Fans are “no longer surprised, just disappointed”.
The Scottish Premiership champions’ board are “actively managing a decline”, and the failure to significantly enhance the squad “feels like self sabotage”.
The Glasgow outfit have “proven again they are not a serious football club” and manager Brendan Rodgers “would be justified in leaving this time”.
To say that Celtic fans are unhappy with how the summer has gone doesn’t even come close to capturing the anger swirling around the east end of the city right now.
The fans are revolting against the board for not investing. The manager has aimed a barb or two towards his bosses for the same thing.
And with Rodgers’ deal up and the end of the season, those fissures look like leading to only one outcome.
On the pitch, an expensive and mortifying Champions League exit and meek Old Firm performance ramped up the rage even more.
Another underwhelming deadline day was the final insult for many fans. But how have Celtic reached this stage? And what might happen next?
How final day of window unfolded
The flurry of signings Rodgers and the Celtic fans craved on deadline day failed to materialise.
Just one player – Tunisia winger Sebastian Tounekti – arrived, while Adam Idah was allowed to join Swansea despite Rodgers’ insistence a few days prior that the striker was going nowhere unless a replacement had been secured.
With Kyogo Furuhashi not adequately replaced following his exit in January, Celtic already needed one striker. Now they are two short.
The eventual arrival of former Leicester City striker Kelechi Iheanacho, who is now a free agent after his Sevilla contract was cancelled, will do little to quell fan anger.
Celtic had hoped to complete a deal for £8m striker Kasper Dolberg, only to miss out on the Dane, who instead returned to Ajax from Anderlecht.
That left the Scottish champions frantically scrambling in the final hours of the window.
Chelsea striker David Datro Fofana reportedly snubbed them in favour of English League One Charlton, only for that move to ultimately fall through. Strasbourg’s Sekou Mara was another forward linked, but no dice there either.
So when the dust settled on Celtic’s summer business and the window closed, it was quite the anti-climax for a disaffected support.
‘Rodgers needs a wide player & striker – no doubt’
Celtic has now brought in 12 signings this window, but only five look like they could be starters in Rodgers’ strongest XI assuming he views Iheanacho as such.
Kieran Tierney will play when fit, while Tounekti, Benjamin Nygren and Michel-Ange Balikwisha all seem to have been recruited with a view to becoming fixtures.
The rest are young loanees, project players, or bench fillers.
Given 11 first-team squad members – and further 12 youngesters – have left this summer, it could be argued that it balances out.
But can Tounekti, Nygren or Balikwisha replace Nicolas Kuhn and the long-term injured Jota? Are Tierney and loanee Marcelo Saracchi an upgrade on Greg Taylor and Jeffrey Schlupp at left-back? And will Iheanacho prove an adequate replacement for Idah and Kyogo?
For other options in attack, Rodgers is left with raw summer arrival Shin Yamada, Callum Osmand – who has been playing for the B team – and 22-year-old fringe player Johnny Kenny as his other striker options behind Daizen Maeda, who will have to be moved from the left wing to fill the vacant slot.
And even Tounekti’s acquisition prompts questions. Rodgers is quoted as saying the winger can “operate on both sides” yet the 23-year-old clearly favours the left, having played 70 games on that flank compared to just eight on the right.
With recent signing Balikwisha – who looked reluctant to take players on during his debut in Sunday’s derby draw at Ibrox – and Maeda also left-sided, is there now an imbalance with Celtic overstocked on that side and light on the right?
Take all that into account and there is a strong case to be made that Celtic leave the window weaker than when it opened.
What does it mean for Rodgers?
Having repeatedly called for reinforcements for several months, Rodgers’ side were bundled out of the Champions League in ignominious fashion by Kairat Almaty.
Rigorous Europa League and domestic demands now lie ahead for the manager under contract until next summer.
His first spell ended in the middle of a third campaign, with the Northern Irishman leaving under a cloud for Leicester City. Rodgers has insisted he will see out his second contract with Celtic.
Time will tell how his current squad fares, both domestically and in European terms, for the rest of the season.
Celtic Football Club Statement
https://www.celticfc.com/news/2025/september/06/celtic-football-club-statement/
Club News
By Celtic Football Club
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06 Sep 2025, 8:42 pm
Following constructive meetings yesterday (Friday) with representatives of the Celtic Supporters’ Association, the Affiliation of Registered Celtic Supporters’ Clubs and the Association of Irish Celtic Supporters’ Clubs, the Club thanks them for conveying the concerns of their members, and Celtic supporters more widely.
The Club takes Celtic supporters’ views extremely seriously, and the Club understands the concerns and frustrations which have arisen. We are listening to the views expressed by our supporters, welcome dialogue and we are always willing to learn lessons. The Club is committed to engagement with supporters, and we will work hard to address the concerns and frustrations that have been raised.
Achieving success on the field of play underpins everything we do. The Club’s strategy over many years has been dedicated to that objective, and we will always strive to achieve it. Celtic supporters play an integral part in the success of the Club, and we are committed to delivering success for them.
Transfer activity attracts enormous attention and speculation, particularly across social media, and the mainstream media has commoditised the transfer window in its relentless search for content. In connection with Celtic, we recognise that debate around this subject reflects the passion of our supporters. Unfortunately, as is often the case in the media and social media, there is inaccurate or misleading information in circulation.
It is clear, from our meetings with supporters’ representatives and from feedback from supporters in recent weeks, that supporters seek clarity. We would, therefore, like to address several key points directly.
Like every supporter, we are ambitious for Celtic. Our shared objective is football success – to succeed in Scotland and to compete in the Champions League. We are disappointed, this season, not to compete in the Champions League, but we are determined to succeed both domestically and in Europe.
However, the Club must adhere to our self-sustaining model: to protect the present and secure the future, ensuring Celtic remains strong for generations to come. The Club’s model has been developed and applied over many years, and during that period the Club has enjoyed a sustained period of success and growth.
Further, the Club’s model is not optional – it is now essential as a consequence of the UEFA Sustainability Regulations, with which the Club must comply. Wages and transfer spending are strictly governed by UEFA’s regulations, which effectively cap wages and transfer spending as a proportion of our revenues. Importantly, the Club’s cash reserves are not relevant to the assessment of this de facto spending cap for the purposes of the UEFA regulations.
Therefore, all investment decisions must be, and are, guided by responsible forecasts of future revenues and cash flow, which by their nature are volatile. We can never compromise the financial integrity of the Club. In short, throwing money at transfers and contracts is not a sustainable route to success, as many other clubs have found to the detriment of their supporters.
Over many years, careful management of the Club’s model has allowed the Club to remain debt-free and to build strong cash reserves. It is important to remain disciplined in our approach. The cash reserves reflected in our accounts exist for the continuous improvement of Celtic Football Club and to manage the inherent volatility within football. These funds are used in a measured fashion for investment in recruitment, infrastructure, and long-term development. We will always listen to our supporters, who have the Club’s interests at heart, in how we can continue to develop the Club within these parameters.
The Club plans our recruitment and player trading strategy responsibly and consistently, ensuring the squad can be strengthened for the short, medium and long term, while also seeking to ensure the development and progression of our Academy players. Our objective is to create Champions League players.
The recruitment process includes the identification of players, and the conclusion of the transfer. Ultimately, once a player has been identified, confirmed by the football manager and it is then supported by the Board in line with the Club’s financial model, the Club will pursue that target to seek to conclude the transfer within our agreed parameters.
Importantly, our ability to progress transfers is not conditional on Champions League qualification. We recognise the importance of timing. Our clear goal is to secure new signings as early in each transfer window as possible, so that players can integrate quickly and contribute from the outset of the season.
Unfortunately, it is not always possible to conclude transfers, either within the timescales that we target, or at all. There are many factors and challenges at play in the global transfer market, many of which are outwith the Club’s control, including selling clubs seeking fees beyond our valuation or waiting until the end of the transfer window to seek the maximum price, and players choosing to join another club or requesting contractual terms we cannot responsibly meet within our financial model.
It is not always possible to achieve all of the objectives set within a transfer window, and that is regrettable. We share our supporters’ disappointment, and we will always continue to review and seek to improve our strategy and execution.
Successful transfers can only be negotiated privately. It would be impossible to secure players if every stage were conducted in public. From time to time, other parties may also seek to create pressure by leaking information to the media. The Club’s position is clear: transfer business will remain confidential until agreements are concluded and announced by the club.
It follows, therefore, that much of what is written in the media or online about our transfer dealings is inaccurate. We also understand that this leads to frustration among supporters. While we cannot comment during ongoing negotiations, we are exploring ways to seek to address the gap between speculation and reality once each transfer window closes, in order to improve clarity for our supporters.
We thank Celtic supporters for their unmatched passion and commitment. We all share the same ambition: to see Celtic succeed on the pitch while remaining strong and secure off it. We hope this statement provides clarity about our transfer policy and reassurance of our unwavering dedication to Celtic’s short, medium and long-term success.
Celtic defend not ‘throwing money’ around on deals
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/articles/cd72n3j0884o
Celtic fans display a bannerImage source, SNS
Richard Winton
BBC Sport Scotland
Published
6 September 2025
Celtic have defended their summer transfer business in the face of criticism from fans, insisting that “throwing money” around is “not a sustainable route to success”.
The Scottish Premiership champions made that affirmation in a statement, external released late on Saturday, which followed “constructive” meetings with supporters’ groups the previous day.
It was the club’s first public missive since the transfer window closed five days ago – a window in which the Scottish Premiership champions signed 12 players.
Three of the most notable arrivals – Sebastian Tounekti, Michel-Ange Balikwisha and Kelechi Iheanacho – came after the club’s Champions League qualification exit at the hands of Kazakhstan’s Kairat Almaty.
That sparked anger amid fans, many of whom pointed to the failure to adequately replace departed stars such as Nicolas Kuhn, Adam Idah and Kyogo Furuhashi despite the club enjoying significant cash reserves.
And manager Brendan Rodgers has also, at times, voiced his frustration at both the timing and the nature of the business done by Celtic this summer.
Insiders believe Rodgers wants Celtic exit – gossip
Published
1 day ago
Irate fans & upset boss – how did Celtic get here?
Published
4 days ago
Latest Celtic news, analysis and fan views
Inaccurate info, Uefa regulations & how Celtic do transfers
Celtic addressed those points in their statement, which ran to more than 1,000 words. In it, they also said:
The club takes supporters’ views “extremely seriously”, “understands the concerns and frustrations” and are “always willing to learn lessons”
“Inaccurate or misleading information” has led to fans demanding clarity
They “must adhere to our self-sustaining model” to preserve the future of the club and also to comply with Uefa’s financial regulations
Celtic’s cash reserves are “not relevant” when it comes to these guidelines
Once a player has been “identified, confirmed by the manager and is supported by the board in line with the financial model” Celtic will try to complete a deal
Ability to sign players is “not conditional on Champions League qualification”
The “clear goal” is to make signings as early as possible but “many factors and challenges, many of which are outwith the club’s control” can affect that
Celtic “will always continue to review and seek to improve our strategy and execution”.
“We can never compromise the financial integrity of the club,” Celtic’s statement added. “It is important to remain disciplined in our approach.
“The cash reserves exist for the continuous improvement of Celtic and to manage the inherent volatility within football. These funds are used in a measured fashion for investment in recruitment, infrastructure, and long-term development.
“We all share the same ambition: to see Celtic succeed on the pitch while remaining strong and secure off it.
“We hope this statement provides clarity about our transfer policy and reassurance of our unwavering dedication to Celtic’s short, medium and long-term success.”
The Celtic Supporters Association members have risen to the moment.
Photo of James Forrest
James Forrest
| 17:21 07/09/25
Today the Celtic Supporters Association delegates rose to the moment with clarity and conviction. At their meeting, the delegates debated the issues facing Celtic, reviewed the recent minutes of the CEO meeting with their own executive, and set out a clear position on behalf of their members.
The debate itself was spirited but never angry or aggressive.
It was carried out in exactly the right way, orderly and focused, with organisers managing the flow of discussion well. Delegates from the supporters’ buses did themselves proud, contributing constructively and making the strength of feeling clear.
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Whatever our focus on Celtic, the media can’t just lie to boost Ibrox.
At the close of the debate, history was made.
A motion of no confidence in the current Celtic board of directors was passed unanimously – the first time such a step has been taken in the Association’s long history.
Alongside this, the delegates also voted to join more than 350 other organisations in signing the Open Letter, which this blog has already pointed out is essential if the wider renewal campaign is to succeed.
These two decisions underline both the seriousness of the crisis and the unity of the supporters’ voice.
The delegates also considered the minutes from the Association’s meeting with the club’s executive leadership on 5th September, a meeting attended by Michael Nicholson (CEO), Chris McKay (CFO), John Paul Taylor (Supporter Liaison Officer), Iain Jamieson (PR Manager) and Kevin McQuillan (Technology Manager).
These minutes were presented to delegates in full today.
The record of that meeting provides insight into the board’s current thinking. In truth, it is exactly what was contained in the statement they released last night — and that, in no small part, is what drove the overwhelming vote against them today.
The broad themes are worth setting out in plain terms.
On Communication
The executives acknowledged that communication with the fanbase has been poor and that there is room for improvement. They pointed to ongoing meetings with fan groups, rotational invitations to media conferences, and other channels. It was conceded that these are not sufficient. The Supporter Liaison Officer was praised for his efforts but it was accepted that he is overstretched.
This is boilerplate rot. Communications have not been “poor” — aside from merchandising emails, communication with the broader fan-base is virtually non-existent. The ongoing “meetings with fan groups” are sanitised nonsense where the CEO has gaslit attendees to their faces on at least one occasion. The fan media conferences are a joke, which is why this blog withdrew from further participation.
One such meeting — one — was with a senior executive. He was kicked out of the club some months later. Since the departure of Dom McKay there has not been a single occasion when fan media could put questions to those responsible for strategy.
The CEO has been hiding from real, sustained scrutiny for 1354 days. Those conferences are box-ticking exercises and will remain so until senior executives subject themselves to real questioning.
If you want to know how the club really feels about fan media, examine the way the chairman treated my Trinity Tims colleague Joe McHugh at the last AGM — the moment I told the club to remove me from further fan media involvement.
Their efforts to keep us “onside” mask their genuine contempt.
Looking forward, the club said a new App for fans is being developed. Supposedly, this will “improve communication.”
Laughable. Rather than engage properly, this is another effort to keep supporters at arm’s length. “Talk to the App if you’re concerned.” I might as well send my dissatisfaction to ChatGPT.
At the same time, they claimed that communicating through the mainstream media remains “challenging.” Presumably it wasn’t challenging when they used a right-wing hate rag to attack the manager yesterday morning. What they mean is they don’t want trained interrogators asking questions because they would fall apart under sustained scrutiny.
They did agree to consider issuing clearer statements. Like the one they released the other night, which was indeed clear if the message they meant to send was “get stuffed.”
On Footballing Strategy
The minutes claim that the club insists its long-term footballing strategy has not changed. The stated ambition remains to maintain a “world-class club” which dominates domestically, qualifies regularly for the Champions League, and remains financially stable.
If you can read that without laughing, you’re a better person than me.
The executives stressed that the manager and the board are aligned on every targeted signing, and that no player is bought without the manager’s approval. Which we know is a barefaced lie. The manager has repudiated it repeatedly — in actions as well as in words.
They said significant investment is made in summer, with January a time for topping up. Again, difficult to read without grunting laughter. That they said this in front of reps with a mass membership behind them, and expected to get away with it, is ridiculous. We all know it’s nonsense.
According to the club, media reports on summer spending are “exaggerated,” with actual figures lower. That’s hardly comforting. We are meant to feel reassured that the club spent even less than the press reported?
The executives said their investment model balances first-team strengthening with youth development aimed at producing Champions League-level players.
The squad is shockingly weak in multiple positions. Almost all fans agree no strengthening has been done. In fact, we’ve gone backwards. The idea that we’re “developing” Champions League players is laughable.
They highlighted the appointment of Paul Tisdale as Head of Football Operations and Shaun Maloney as Professional Player Pathway Manager.
Supposedly this proves commitment to short- and long-term progress. To many fans, it looks like Maloney is being groomed for the dugout and Tisdale is a convenient scapegoat waiting to be sacrificed when pressure mounts.
On Transfers
The executives described the summer window as “typical.” That might be the truest thing they said — and it’s damning. Only someone detached from reality could think that’s a positive.
They claimed work begins in December, with targets emerging throughout, and that they worked “24/7.” Agents, inflated valuations, and external factors were blamed. In other words: we want players but don’t want to pay market value, so we scramble for bargains and freebies.
We were laughed at by some clubs we approached — and those were only the public ones. I suspect dozens more knocked us back for lowball offers. The executives blame others for that.
They admitted we are regarded as a “selling club” in Europe, presenting this as if it were someone else’s fault. It is theirs, and theirs alone.
They highlighted agents’ “excessive demands,” as though football had stood still since the 1990s. They defended late-window deals as a way of “maximising opportunities.” Opportunities, that is, for dross no-one else wants.
We were humiliated this summer. And these people still sell it as a virtue. They won’t change unless they are forced.
On Finances and Infrastructure
Executives insisted failure to reach the Champions League Groups had “no effect” on expenditure plans. That alone should terrify you. Anyone expecting a spending spree with qualification would have been as let down as they are now.
They pointed to heavy investment in Barrowfield and Lennoxtown. Yet Barrowfield remains unopened, the stand for fans cut from the plans, and Lennoxtown is staffed with ex-Motherwell personnel. This is presented as “world class.” It’s one of the board’s greatest frauds.
They confirmed a museum project is shelved, a hotel and transport hub are dead, and a South Stand rebuild is “not viable” in the SPFL. Fergus McCann built foundations. These people are running them down. They have no vision.
On finances, they defended the club’s cash reserves, claiming UEFA rules demand prudence. The suggestion that bank balances cannot be translated into transfer funds has already been demolished by analysts. It’s spin. Nothing more.
On Surveys and Media
They said a fan survey drew 50,000 responses but admitted the report was useless. Another agency has been hired to “reformat” it. Supporters will see results eventually — but there’s no promise they’ll be acted on.
On media, they said Celtic has 30 staff compared to 100+ at EPL clubs. That still feels excessive for Scotland.
Finally, they expressed concern that staff members have been “targeted.” If true, that should be condemned. But no names, no detail, no context. Just a smear, designed to suggest Celtic fans are to blame. If “targeted” means criticised for being invisible or unaccountable, then too bad. That goes with the job — and the six-figure pay packet.
The Verdict
That is what the Association reps were told at the meeting with the directors, and that is what they brought back to delegates. The delegates responded in historic fashion: for the first time, a motion of no confidence in the Celtic board passed unanimously.
They also voted to sign the Open Letter, joining hundreds of other organisations demanding change.
And based on everything above, that change is more necessary than ever.
Today’s vote shows the dam has burst. The board’s holding-pattern answers no longer fool anyone. Change is no longer optional. It is inevitable.
Celtic fans meeting 11 Sep 2025
Meeting chaired by; Paul John dykes – a celtic state of mind Eddie toner – Celtic trust and drumchapel CSC Mac – green brigade
1st part of the meeting – discussing the open letter, the percentages and actions
2nd part – coming together, agreeing on next steps and actions and deciding on a committee to drive it going forward.
- Celtic supporters association took the lead with the vote of no confidence – the results from over 40,000 surveys in the past 3 days are that 99.4% of people have agreed that there should be a vote of no confidence.
- Mac then discussed the figures from the photos above^
- 10 busses sampled the polls above (us being 1 of the 10). 1 bus had both polls in favour of a boycott, 2 busses had 1 of the 2 polls in favour of a boycott, 7 busses had a majority vote against both boycotts.
Opened it up to discussion;
- Andy McAdam – Paul Abram CSC – thinks there should be more focus towards the 2 non execs Brian wilson and Tom Allison – they should be the reasoning between the board and the fans and seem to escape criticism
- Irish association – were at a meeting with the board on Friday, severely challenged the board on lack of activity and false promises. Not just about the result in Kazakhstan or the poor transfer window, but the years of poor transfers windows, the false promises of hotels and museums and no updates on why it didn’t happen, no real response from the board. Then asked Nicholson for a short and long term objective of the club – Nicholson then said good point, I have that pinned on the wall in my office and I have a bit highlighted that I need to communicate better with the fans. On the back of this meeting this meeting a discussion was had and the decision came around to give a vote of no confidence on the board.
- Bishopton emerald rep – 56 members on HCTS, now only have 4. Vast majority of them won’t be buying the Europa league package but all worried that they’ll just sell on HCTS.
- Yoker John Casey csc – short term we should be trying to force the 3 out that we’ve discussed. But something that doesn’t hit the team on the park so a boycott of merchandise etc more worthwhile.
- Kev – saltmarket – board will think they have gotten off with this because we don’t have a home guy for a while, but rugby park on Sunday is the perfect away ground to enter late with the full away support waiting on the concourse
- Paul – Celtic trust (fans against criminisation etc previously) – keep the unity, something on Sunday to show the board is important, something large like HCTS splits the unity, so it should be an individual decision, with no one judging that decision (he then said he has chose to come off the HCTS but it’s a personal decision because he isn’t happy, but widespread action like that splits the unity). The minute unity split’s the chances of forcing change becomes harder so short term it should be visual changes like late entries that piles pressure on, gets cameras dialled into the board members, but keeps the unity, keeps driving the high percentages wanting change but . Longer term, if we can force change on the board, whoever comes in will know that they have a passionate fan base who will do anything for the team, but will also demand standards and a clear football objective.
- Janette Findlay – Celtic trust – agrees this needs to start Sunday, but we need to build on that, need clear set of actions, also need a back up plan. Encourage people who aren’t happy with the current situation to join in with any planned action. Should be really forcing serious questions at the AGM to completely ruin their fancy PLC event and let them know the majority are not happy. Would strongly want all shareholders to sign up to the Celtic trust. Don’t need to sign your shares over to the Celtic trust but can sign up and they can still contact you when action from shareholders are needed.
- Danny Kelly – bhoys – don’t think there is anyone in the room who doesn’t want to support Celtic, however, 10 minutes late into a game forces more pressure onto the board and as much as it might be tough on the players for the first 10 minutes, it’s even tougher on the players and manager all season when the board don’t invest in the team and the squad is so weak, and they 10 minutes is the start of change that long term can only help the players and the manager
- Luigi – green brigade – as much as the 10 minutes will be hard on everyone not watching the team, let’s use it as a way really galvanise the away supporters on Sunday and get right behind the team and give it everything for 80 minutes
- Kev – saltmarket – going in late has the same impact as an early exit however a game can’t be won in the first 5 minutes but it can be won in last 5 minutes
- Done a show of hands in favour of a 10 minute late entry on Sunday. About 95% of the room in agreement.
- MAC – green brigade – I know there will be a small element of the away support against a late entry on Sunday, the bhoys and the green brigade can come together with a banner etc in the empty stand to ensure the team know that we’re all in for them but need to take action for change in the boardroom
Overwhelming summary is
- This isn’t forced from this summer this has been coming
- Unity is so important or it’ll fall apart
- Unity coming together from everyone – podcasts talking about it and getting the message out, CSCs keeping members in the loop and encouraging each other to get behind action and respect anyone’s decision who doesn’t agree. Using people involved in these meeting with business/lawyers experience etc to help guide the movement.
- Ex players and media talking about how change is needed and this is the perfect time for us to act when everyone is on side
- Statement to be released ahead of Sunday and will be going ahead with 10 minute late entry with a focus on getting right behind the team for the remaining 80 minutes of the game
- Longer term movement of boycotting merchandise etc to be discussed
From <https://www.reddit.com/r/CelticFC/comments/1nds2ul/tonights_meeting/>
Celtic fans plan late entry protest against board
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/articles/cx254vjzzrwo
Celtic fans have been protesting against the club’s board at the start of this season
Published
11 September 2025
Celtic fans will continue to demonstrate their dissatisfaction with the club’s board with a late entry protest at Kilmarnock on Sunday.
A substantial section of supporters remain angry about a lack of significant summer signings and failure to reach the Champions League has heightened pressure on those in charge at Celtic Park.
A lengthy club statement explaining recent recruitment was met with widespread derision and prompted an open letter from fans groups demanding answers for “repeated failures in transfer dealings”.
Those groups have since released a joint communication saying their concerns have “still to be addressed” despite the open letter “representing tens of thousands of Celtic fans”.
They cite a survey with 38,832 respondents and say there is an “overwhelming consensus” to back the following strategy.
“To build on the recent ‘no confidence’ votes on the Celtic FC board, seeking the removal of Michael Nicholson, CEO, Chris McKay, CFO, Peter Lawwell, chairman.
“To build a strategic, escalatory campaign against the Celtic board.
“To build a democratic and representative fan body
“To coordinate a ‘late entry’ protest at Kilmarnock v Celtic to further visualise and vocalise fan discontent.
“To help progress these points and the fan movement generally, a steering group of volunteers is being assembled.”
With 10 points from four matches, Celtic sit top of the Scottish Premiership as they aim for a 14th title in 15 seasons.
The joint statement ends: “It is natural that there will be a mix of feeling regarding some actions or inaction, however the most important consideration at this stage is maintaining, building and utilising broad fan support.”
Celtic fans postpone Braga protest as board act after Brendan Rodgers calls for truce
Matthew Elder
By Matthew Elder
Deputy Sports Editor
0Comment
Published 1st Oct 2025, 22:25 BST
Fans stand down as board issue invite to showdown meeting
Celtic fans have postponed plans to carry out a 29-minute silent protest against the club’s board at the start of Thursday’s Europa League match at home to Braga.
The Parkhead hierarchy have come under heavy fire from large sections of a fanbase who feel their perceived failure to back manager Brendan Rodgers in the summer transfer window contributed to a Champions League exit at the hands of Kairat Almaty in late August.
There was a 12-minute protest at last Saturday’s 0-0 draw with Hibs and another one lasting 29 minutes was planned for the visit of Braga before being upped to 32 minutes for Sunday’s William Hill Premiership match against Motherwell.
However, the Celtic Fan Collective – a new umbrella supporters’ organisation formed in the wake of recent anger – have cancelled their protests after the club’s board agreed to a meeting.
A statement on Wednesday night read: “This evening, Celtic fan organisations received an invitation from Celtic FC to attend a meeting with the club on Monday 6th October to discuss ongoing concerns about the running of the club.
“In conjunction with the Celtic Fans Collective, supporter organisations have accepted this invitation. Celtic FC’s representatives will include Michael Nicholson and Chris McKay.
“We welcome the club’s decision to meet and engage directly on the issues raised. However, we remain under no illusions about the scale of change still required at board level.
“As a result of this development, the planned continuation of the ‘3-match silence’ has been postponed, in good faith, in the hope and expectation that supporters will now receive full and honest communication from the club.
“We thank every supporter who has stood behind this campaign and helped bring the Celtic board to the table. Without this unity, it would not have been possible. It highlights the strength and influence of a united Celtic support.
“The Celtic Fans Collective will continue its campaign irrespective of the outcome of this meeting, with the clear aim of securing meaningful, positive change for the betterment of Celtic Football Club and its supporters.”
Speaking earlier on Wednesday, Brendan Rodgers had expressed hope that a truce would soon break out between Celtic fans and the board.
“I think our focus is pretty much on the performance on the pitch, that is the only thing that we can control,” Rodgers said on the eve of the Braga match.
“I really hope that the stadium is full because that’s what Celtic is about for me. It’s an incredible club and our history is based around our supporters and what they bring. I understand frustrations, but I hope that we still have a full stadium here backing the team.
“I think that obviously Celtic Park is renowned for its atmosphere and what it can do to the opponents.
“But I suppose my message, probably for the longer term, is that hopefully both parties can sit down and respect the differences and find a solution so that we can all pull together again because that’s what’s always key here for Celtic.
“Until that happens, I need to manage the team to maximise what we can get out of the team.”
Meeting 20251007 Notes
From KDS forum
The only update from the meeting is there’s nae update to be honest. 2 and a half hours of not a lot of substance.
Not long out.
I can say that there are meant to be minutes shared pretty quickly over next day or so, they will be checked against our mins taken, and then a joint minute will be released. I would expect there will be arguments about the content, and that will lead to our own minutes being released separately, but we’ll see.
The board do not accept the club is not moving forward, they don’t accept that the transfer windows over a number of years have been a failure, the dont accept that how we do our business in the transfer windows needs to be overhauled, saying they will be reviewing anyway as part of their normal process.
They don’t accept that the club appears to lack ambition, referring to moving past the group stages last year and the domestic success.
They don’t accept that they wont soend money and spend just enough to win in Scotland.
They did say that the non executive board have to be asked about spending money above certain levels, although obviously wouldn’t say what those were.
Ps on that point I was talking to paul.john dykes and he says that when we sign McGowan, Nicholson could not himself approve upping out bid from 800k to 1 mil and had to leave the room to obtain permission. PJD said McGowan agent told him this personally. Take what yoi want about that.
They do not accept that there is a wedge between the board and the manager.
They say the manager approves all transfers.
They wouldn’t answer my question about who, within celtic, values players that we are interested in, saying its multidisciplinary approach.
They have no intention of launching any investigation into the leak to the press about the manager. They asked all the board members and everyone said they weren’t it lol.
They did accept that their fan engagement and communication could be better and they will look at that, but no commitment as to how or when.
Some of the points made were a bit mad from.some people there and there are clearly personalities on the group that will never agree with one another.
I can see that what will.happen now is the collective will re-engage the silences and other forms of protest following all of the unanswered questions, that wont suit everyone, and the collective will fall apart, being left with the more militant members. People are already saying they are just the GB. That’s not the case but I can see it going that way.
Club Executive meets with fan groups
https://www.celticfc.com/news/2025/october/07/club-executive/
Club News
By Celtic Football Club
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07 Oct 2025, 5:40 pm
In response to issues raised in recent weeks about the Club’s strategy and operations, we invited representatives of fan groups to meet with Michael Nicholson, Chris McKay and Club executives at Celtic Park and this took place on Monday evening.
It was, and remains, our intention to provide a full minute of the meeting for the interest of the wider fan base. However, with content already being distributed online from the meeting, we are also providing an earlier update.
The Club sought to comment openly on the issues raised to the extent that it is possible to do so, without prejudicing Club operations and confidentiality.
We acknowledged that the Club is not where we want it to be at the moment, that we have not achieved all of our objectives in the summer transfer window and the Champions League, and that mistakes have been made from which we will learn. We recognise the concerns raised, share the frustrations of our supporters and valued the opportunity to hear from supporters last night.
Our immediate objective is to seek to make progress, without negatively impacting on the team on the field of play, and that we continue to focus on delivering success this season.
We intend to issue minutes soon, but outputs from the meeting included a commitment to seek to ensure supporter involvement in meetings with Police Scotland regarding the Fairhurst Report, the review and development of supporter engagement processes, and progressing a new safe standing working group.
The Club offered to continue to meet with supporters’ organisations moving forward and is committed to ongoing dialogue with our wider support. We have always engaged in regular discussions with supporter groups and will continue to do so, with the aim of ensuring that we can work collaboratively and positively in the best interests of our team on the pitch and our Club as a whole.
Celtic board ‘remains detached’, says fan group
Some Celtic fans have been agitating for change at boardroom levelImage source, SNS
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/articles/cvgqygqy34po
Published
7 October 2025
A meeting between some of the Celtic board and supporters’ representatives on Monday “produced no tangible outcomes”, say the Celtic Fans Collective.
The umbrella group for fans’ organisations added that “many participants left with the view that the club’s leadership remains detached from the concerns of its supporters and reluctant to confront the need for change.”
Fans agitating for change at boardroom level has been a feature at Celtic games this season.
Planned silent protests for recent home games against Braga and Motherwell were cancelled after spokespeople for the Collective were invited to sit down with officials, including chief executive Michael Nicholson and chief financial officer Chris McKay.
However, those talks appear to have been fruitless, with the Collective saying: “A recurring theme, through all answers and discussions, was a lack of humility, awareness and accountability.”
A statement from the Collective said club officials defended Celtic’s footballing strategy and transfer approach, while there was “no belief that substantive change may be required”.
They added: “The Collective expressed disappointment that the club remained unwilling to engage meaningfully on questions of leadership, governance, and accountability.”
The Collective explained they will “continue to consult with members to plan next steps”, with their message concluding: “It is our strong belief that yesterday’s meeting compounded the necessity and urgency of change.”
Celtic concede ‘mistakes have been made’
Celtic responded with a statement of their own, saying those present “sought to comment openly on the issues raised to the extent that it is possible to do so, without prejudicing club operations and confidentiality.”
The club also say they are “committed to ongoing dialogue”.
The statement added: We acknowledged that the club is not where we want it to be at the moment, that we have not achieved all of our objectives in the summer transfer window and the Champions League, and that mistakes have been made from which we will learn.
“We recognise the concerns raised, share the frustrations of our supporters and valued the opportunity to hear from supporters last night.
“Our immediate objective is to seek to make progress, without negatively impacting on the team on the field of play, and that we continue to focus on delivering success this season.”
Agreed minutes of meeting with fan groups
Club News
By Celtic Football Club
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09 Oct 2025, 4:58 pm
Link to PDF minutes: https://cdn.celticfc.com/assets/Fan_Meeting_Minutes_6th_October_Celtic_091025_Final.pdf
Following Monday evening’s meeting with supporters at Celtic Park we are pleased to share the agreed minutes.
The Club welcomed the opportunity to meet with a broad range of fan representatives and groups, to listen and discuss their concerns directly.
We understand that the Club has not been where we all wanted it to be and we recognised the importance of working together in a constructive and positive way to find a way forward without negatively impacting the team.
As outlined in Tuesday’s meeting summary, outputs from the meeting included a commitment to seek to ensure supporter involvement in meetings with Police Scotland regarding the Fairhurst Report, the review and development of supporter engagement processes, and progressing a new safe-standing working group.
This meeting is part of our ongoing commitment to engage meaningfully with supporters, building on existing dialogue and working together.
While views may differ, we all share the same fundamental objective – the continued success of Celtic Football Club.
We were pleased to host this meeting and thank supporters for their attendance and involvement in these discussions. The Club intends to invite the same groups of supporters to a further meeting in due course.