The gulf between Celtic’s hierarchy and fans was laid bare as the club’s annual general meeting was abandoned after only 25 minutes with heckles of ‘sack the board’ from shareholders.
Director Ross Desmond accused some fans of being “bullies” as he read out a statement on behalf of himself and his father Dermot, the club’s largest shareholder, who was not present.
Interim manager Martin O’Neill told Sky Sports News it was a “really sad morning” as he hoped both sides could eventually move forward together.
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Saturday 22nd November 8:00pm
What happened at Celtic’s AGM?
Chairman Peter Lawwell initially adjourned proceedings within five minutes as directors were greeted with dozens of red cards and a chorus of boos.
Chants of “out, out, out” and “sack the board” followed, although interim boss O’Neill was cheered at Celtic Park.
One shareholder approached the top table, and as chanting continued, Lawwell said the “disruptive behaviour is not on” – with an initial adjournment of 30 minutes.
Once the meeting resumed, a number of shareholders walked out in protest before returning to take their seats.
Celtic fans have been protesting against the club’s board at games this season
Ross Desmond then spoke about “shameful” attempts to “vilify and dehumanise” the board.
That led to more disruption and saw Lawwell bring proceedings to a close within 25 minutes, meaning there was no vote on resolutions or Q&A.
In a subsequent statement, Celtic said the conduct of “a small number of individuals” was “completely unacceptable and hugely disappointing”.
They added that Lawwell has “called a poll on the resolutions at the end of the meeting, the results of which will be made available once counted and verified by our registrar, Computershare.”
The club confirmed in a later statement that due to the disturbance, some members in attendance may not have heard the poll being called. Therefore, “the poll will remain open until Tuesday November 25 at 5pm”.
“The club wishes to emphasise that it is aware there are issues which many shareholders wished to raise and on which we hoped to have a real engagement,” Celtic added.
“We share the frustration of the great majority of shareholders in the room, that the action of a small minority at the meeting prevented shareholders from having the opportunity to participate in a question-and-answer session.”
What did Desmond say?
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Celtic podcaster Tino Callaghan reacts after the club’s AGM was cut short following a speech from Ross Desmond, the son of majority shareholder Dermot
Ross Desmond delivered a statement to offer “clarity and respect” because of “misinformation that has been swirling around the club”.
“There has been much nonsense spouted about the people on this stage,” he added.
“There are those who lie in wait for any opportunity and any small opening to stir up toxicity around the club.”
The Irishman described his father as a “passionate and lifelong Celtic supporter” who wants the club to be “healthy, successful and still thriving decades and even centuries from now”.
“The board shares those desires and that’s why the board respects financial reality,” he added. “We act prudently, not recklessly.
“The financial independence of this club was jeopardised in the mid-1990s and we must never allow ourselves to fall into that position again.
“We constantly strive to improve, to become more competitive, to go deeper into Europe and there is no doubt we get things wrong and we make mistakes and we try to learn from them.
Celtic chairman Peter Lawwell (left) and chief exec Michael Nicholson (centre) are under mounting pressure from fans
“Our model is far from perfect but for the most part it has served this club well over the past 20 years. So we will not be bullied by aggressive or irrational factions.
“We will not be railroaded by those whose only vocation in life is to be anti-establishment and by those who try to degrade the club.”
Desmond described some recent criticism as “destructive and cynical” but claimed it had strengthened their resolve, and he also defended “dedicated Celtic people” Lawwell and chief executive Michael Nicholson.
“The attempts to dehumanise and vilify them are shameful,” he added.
Desmond then claimed sections of fans were bringing the club into disrepute and referred to a recent incident during a match against Falkirk, which led to the Green Brigade being banned.
Amid increasing noise from the floor, he added: “These people are bullies and they try to hijack the behaviour of Celtic supporters. We cannot allow them to define who we are. I’m well aware of the target I put on my back by saying this…”
O’Neill: What would Jock Stein make of it?
O’Neill and Shaun Maloney (right) remain in interim charge at Celtic
Interim manager Martin O’Neill told Sky Sports News it was a “really sad morning” as he hoped both sides could eventually move forward together.
“I thought it was a really sad morning,” he said. “I wonder what Jock Stein would have made of it all because he talked about unity.
“Unity has been so important at a football club because without it you don’t have it and you won’t win.
“I think the bits that I saw board members saying on video and actually admitting that mistakes have been made.
“But now is the opportunity to move on. Celtic have had really great success, certainly domestically, in the last number of years.
Major Celtic shareholder Dermot Desmond was not at Friday’s AGM
“I’m not saying it’s going to happen this particular year, but now in the years to come, despite the fact that the coefficient is dropping dramatically.
“But let’s see if the football club and Scottish football in general can get back again to some great days.
“We all make mistakes and I only make about 6,000 per day myself. It was really sad because that’s not what Celtic Football Club is all about.”
New boss search ‘progressing pretty nicely’
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Celtic interim boss O’Neill said the club’s search for a new permanent boss was ‘progressing nicely’
Celtic confirmed on Monday that O’Neill and Shaun Maloney will remain in charge of the club as their search for a new permanent manager continues.
“Things are progressing pretty nicely in terms of the new manager coming in,” said O’Neill.
“My departure is welcomed by me, if nothing else, and I think at some stage or there’s something that will happen in the very near future.
“We’re getting to know each other a wee bit, but I’ve only judged it by game by game and like everything else, we don’t win against St Mirren and don’t play well in the game then maybe time for the new manager to step in and progress it as quickly as possible.
“For myself now just thoughts to tomorrow in St Mirren, which will be very difficult for us.
“That will be part of his [the new manager’s] role, to unite the football club again. That’s obviously very important because Celtic disunited can’t really compete.
“That’s really as simple as that.”
