• Written by Marc S
• January 3, 2026
• 4 minutes

I’m writing this as a Celtic supporter, not as a pundit, not as a “content creator”, and not as someone auditioning for a seat at the table. I’m a season-ticket holder. I’ve done the away days. I’ve felt the miles in my legs and the songs in my throat. I live in Asia now, so I can’t be there like I used to — but distance doesn’t dull it. If anything, it makes it worse: you’re watching the club you love get pulled apart in public, and you can’t even be there to feel the heartbeat of the place and remember what matters.

And here’s what I can’t ignore anymore: we are eating ourselves.

Not just “fans vs board”. Not just “match-going vs online”. Not just “traditional vs modern”. It’s everyone — megalomaniacs, fanatics, opportunists, and clickbait merchants — all snarling at each other, all convinced they’re the only adults in the room, all treating Celtic like it’s a battleground for ego. People aren’t disagreeing anymore; they’re dehumanising. They’re turning fellow supporters into enemies. They’re turning every setback into a civil war. And the club — the actual club, the thing we’re meant to protect — is caught in the middle.

The last year alone shows the pattern: flashpoints, escalation, and fallout

If you want “proof” that this isn’t just melodrama, look at what’s happened — not in the distant past, but in the last 12 months:

• 30 January 2025: UEFA punished Celtic with an immediate €20,000 fine and a one-match suspended ban on selling away tickets after supporters lit pyrotechnics during the heavy defeat at Borussia Dortmund earlier in the campaign. The Independent
• 16 March 2025: Police Scotland reported that 90 people were denied entry to Celtic Park after refusing searches under Section 60 powers, stating officers believed they posed a threat due to possible weapons/pyrotechnics. Scottish Police+1
• 25 September 2025: An independent review published via the club’s channels captured supporter accounts describing prolonged detention, lack of provisions, and deepening mistrust — including claims of people being held “approximately five hours” without basic necessities (presented in the report as supporter testimony/feedback). Celtic FC
• 21 November 2025: Celtic’s AGM was abandoned after 25 minutes amid sustained disruption, chanting, and open hostility — a public symbol of how poisoned the atmosphere has become. The Guardian
• 2 December 2025: The club’s relationship with a prominent supporters’ section deteriorated further, with reporting describing an indefinite ban/suspension in the wake of an incident at the Falkirk match (29 October 2025) and escalating sanctions thereafter. RTÉ

You don’t need to “pick a side” to see the theme. Every flare-up becomes a referendum on identity. Every incident becomes a loyalty test. Every disagreement becomes a hunt for traitors. And while we’re busy throwing stones at each other, the standard of conversation collapses — and once that happens, trust collapses with it.

Clickbait isn’t “coverage” — it’s petrol

Some outlets don’t report Celtic; they farm Celtic. Rage is their product. Outrage is their business model. They don’t want resolution — they want recurring revenue. So they amplify the worst voices, clip the most inflammatory ten seconds, and sell it back to us as “what the fans think”.

And plenty of us keep paying the price — with our attention, with our anger, with our dignity.

And to the “we know best” brigade (on every side)

There are people who genuinely care and still end up causing damage because they’re addicted to being right. Some are brilliant on history, identity, culture. Some understand modern football finance and governance. Some understand matchday reality better than anyone. All of those perspectives matter.

But here’s the blunt truth: Celtic can’t be run like a pub argument.
Every pub has an expert. Every group chat has a mastermind. Every thread has someone “in the know”. But most of the loudest voices aren’t carrying responsibility — they’re carrying certainty. And certainty is cheap.

What Celtic needs from all of us — boardroom, stands, supporter leaders, media, online accounts, the lot — is simpler and harder:

What I’m asking for in 2026: grow up, or step aside

1. Stop treating fellow supporters as enemies. Disagree hard — fine. But the dehumanising, the pile-ons, the gloating when “your side” wins a point? That’s cancerous.
2. Stop letting outrage merchants drive the agenda. If a headline is clearly designed to inflame you, don’t reward it with clicks, shares, or your blood pressure.
3. Stick to verifiable facts when you’re making serious claims. The last year has been full of real incidents with real consequences — UEFA sanctions, policing operations, escalating bans, a breakdown in dialogue so severe an AGM collapsed. If we can’t talk about reality without turning it into mythology, we’re finished. RTÉ+4The Independent+4Scottish Police+4
4. Demand better channels for engagement — and use them properly. Real dialogue is boring compared to “war”. But it’s the only thing that actually changes anything.
5. Remember what we are. Celtic is not a brand you perform for. It’s a club built on community, identity, and responsibility. That’s not poetry — it’s the standard we’re supposed to live up to.

I’m not asking anyone to abandon their principles. I’m asking us to abandon our need to win every argument at the cost of the club’s soul.

Because right now, too many people are so busy trying to piss in somebody else’s toilet that they don’t realise they’re standing in the mess.

If you love Celtic — really love Celtic — then prove it the hard way: less venom, more discipline. Less theatre, more truth. Less ego, more unity.