Celtic Fans Collective launches stinging response as Dermot Desmond dispute escalates

Celtic’s bitter dispute with sections of the support has escalated further after the Celtic Fans Collective launched a stinging response to the club’s statement over the protest against Dermot Desmond at St Andrews.

Celtic issued a lengthy statement on Saturday night condemning events at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship, announcing an end to engagement with the Collective and warning that anyone established to have been involved could face an indefinite ban from Celtic Park.

The Collective has now hit back, placing Desmond firmly at the centre of its response and accusing Celtic of displaying an urgency it believes has been absent when dealing with other serious issues surrounding the club.

Opening its statement, the Collective said: “In yet another rash late-night statement, Celtic Football Club, almost certainly at the behest of minority shareholder Dermot Desmond, sought to attack the Celtic Fans Collective.

“Similar interventions in recent years have tended to appear whenever the notoriously thin-skinned Desmond feels personally slighted.”

Celtic’s statement was published at 9.09pm on Saturday, hours after tennis balls carrying crossed-out images of Desmond were thrown onto the course at St Andrews.

The Collective then contrasted the club’s swift response with its handling of other matters it believes have damaged Celtic.

It continued: “Yet when Celtic endure disastrous transfer windows, failed managerial appointments, supporters being attacked or kettled by police, or humiliating performances on the park that have actually damaged Celtic’s reputation, the same urgency is nowhere to be seen.”

The Collective said: “This tells Celtic supporters everything they need to know about Dermot Desmond and his priorities.

“He appears furious that ordinary working-class fans have dared to air their grievances in the safe, elitist world of golf, embarrassing him in front of the network of people whose opinions he appears to value far more than those of Celtic supporters.”