Disputes between supporters and Celtic officials nothing new

Originally posted on The Celtic Star | By Matthew Marr | Last updated Oct 4, 2025 4:19 AM ET

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.

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.