Celtic fans have received a mixed response after protesting at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship tournament in St Andrews, throwing tennis balls at the 15th hole while Dermot Desmond, the club’s main shareholder, was playing.
This happened on Saturday, October 3, 2026, and has understandably already generated both negative and sympathetic responses.
A recent example is Alan Brazil, who condemned the supporters’ actions on a talkSPORT program but also supported the reason behind them.
Brazil criticized the vandalism, arguing that it crossed the line by disrupting professional golfers and disrespecting the tradition of a historic setting such as St Andrews.
The pundit pointed out that this clearly affects Celtic’s public image. However, he later wanted to support the reasons behind the fans’ actions, as although he rejected the method of protest, he agreed with the supporters regarding their frustration with the board, explaining that the Celtic Board should have invested in and strengthened the squad much better after struggling so much and facing so many difficulties to win the league last season, and instead they chose to become complacent.
Alan Brazil Delivers Mixed Message on Celtic Fan Protest at St Andrews
He said, “You can’t win with this one, honestly. I’m meant to stick up for the fans here, but it’s not only rude, but it’s also rude to the guy he’s playing with as well. The professionals he’s playing with. Brooks Koepka. I don’t think you can do that.”
“This is the home of golf, you know what I mean? It’s tradition, it’s St Andrews. I don’t like that. Sorry, don’t like it. There will be some Celtic fans saying that we’ve got to push this board to sell and move on. But to do it at a big event like that, St Andrews, the world watching, I don’t think that does Celtic any good.”
He added, “I think he looks a lot better, Martin (O’Neill). I don’t think you can question Martin’s judgment here. I’ve said it, and I’ll say it again, and I’m probably going to get pelters for this, but with the greatest respect, it’s my team, and I can say what I like.”
“Celtic, in my opinion, were very, very fortunate, showed a lot of character, but very, very fortunate to win the league last year. That’s when you invest again. You think, ‘We’re champions, we’re not going to make that mistake again; there’s a war chest. Come on, let’s go to war. We’ll continue this dominance.’ And what did they do? They sat back in their chairs thinking, ‘Ah, we’ve just about got off again.’ Which is wrong, and I don’t think you can blame Martin O’Neill for that.”
Celtic Fans Handed Mixed Message After Protest Against Board