Opinion – Rod Stewart, please stop embarrassing the Hoops

Instead this is the full-body, crawl-up-yourself secondhand embarrassment you feel when Sir Rod Stewart appears in public kitted out in the merch, roaring his love for Celtic, only to be reminded that his politics and public persona seem to drift in a direction miles away from what many of us understand the club to stand for.

Now before we go further, let’s get the disclaimer in early. Celtic is, and always has been, a club open to all.

That is not just a slogan, but something embedded deep in the roots of our formation, from the charitable work of Brother Walfrid to the diverse global support we are proud of today. There’s no litmus test for fandom — you don’t need to agree with every supporter on politics, religion or culture to love this club.

But that doesn’t mean we can’t call out the occasional disconnect when someone so publicly associated with the club starts not just going against, but grating against the grain of what Celtic, to many of us, represents.

Rod Stewart loves Celtic. No doubt. The man’s been a visible, vocal supporter for decades. He’s flown the flag at concerts, sung You’ll Never Walk Alone’ in the stands, and probably encouraged more casual fans in the door through his fame than we’ll ever count. He even recorded ‘Grace’ and included the much loved republican song on one of his recent albums, but was notably prevented from playing it on BBC Radio 2.

Fair enough. But when he starts spouting off in interviews about his support for ultra right-wing politicians, whether it was the Enoch Powell, Thatcher or his more recent Reform leanings towards Nigel Farage, it hits like a jarring note from his Glastonbury set.

Celtic, remember, was born from poverty. Our founding mission was to feed Irish immigrants in Glasgow’s East End. Our support — in the main is working-class, socially aware, and no stranger to historical struggle and has arguably has long prided itself on left-wing ideals. That doesn’t mean everyone votes the same way, or has identical beliefs. But there’s arguably a shared spirit that finds solidarity with the oppressed, not the oppressors.

So, when Rod appears to praise Farage, or appears in the media scoffing at public services, a fair few of us are left thinking read the room – please.

It’s not that we’re gatekeeping. Celtic Park isn’t the kind of place where you can expect to get your political beliefs vetted at the turnstile. But when someone of Rod’s profile steps out of line with what many of us feel is the club’s ethos — while still making himself a poster boy for it — it becomes fair game to ask: Could you just please realise it’s tone deaf?

We don’t need you to be or want you to be Che Guevara in a Celtic top. But when you loudly support governments that hammered the poor, attacked the unions, or turned their backs on refugees, it doesn’t square with the banners flying in the North Curve or the names etched into our foundation, and when you come on stage with backing singers in the Hoops, or with the club crest on your drum kit, you end up associating Celtic with
your politics.

Plenty in the support will still take the joy in seeing Rod in the stands at Hampden or Celtic Park, as we saw at Glastonbury yesterday, going by the colours in the crowd, as much as on the stage. And yes, he’s given us some wonderful, often even amusing, heart-on-sleeve moments but it sends the shivers down the spine when he spouts politics that are more welcome at Eton than the East End.

So, Rod, we get it. You love the Celtic. We do too. But maybe just remember where this club came from and the kind of people who built it. We’re a club open to all, but we could do with a little less of the cultural cringe.

Read the room for heaven’s sake.

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