BBC Sportsound report on mixed reaction to Celtic Park protest as Pat Bonner looks out of touch

The Celtic fan tennis ball protest during the Europa League defeat to Stuttgart appears to have had a mixed reaction inside the stadium.

BBC commentator Liam McLeod was on duty and he reported that some fans booed the protest against the Celtic board.

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Almost immediately after the game kicked off, play had to be stopped to clear what looked like a mixture of tennis and bouncy balls from the Celtic Park pitch and McLeod said some fans inside the stadium were less than impressed.

Some Celtic fans booed the Stuttgart protest

As Celtic fans turn up the heat on the board, BBC commentator McLeod said not everyone inside the stadium was on board with the action taken.

McLeod said on BBC Sportsound, “It’s not often you see a protest like that at home, in home matches. You see it quite often away from home.

“And I think they did it at Dens Park this season, didn’t they, and it was one of the worst performances Celtic have put in this season kind of latterly, in the Rodgers era.

“And not to labour the point, but there are Celtic supporters inside this stadium who aren’t happy that the game has stopped. There was a lot of booing there.”

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Pat Bonner shows he’s out of touch with Celtic fans

Out of every ex-Celtic player who should understand why the protests are ongoing, Pat Bonner is one.

The former Celtic goalkeeper was in the team when the protests to save the club from administration were ongoing in the 90s.

And while the situation Celtic fans face now is not as grave, the sentiment behind these protests is just as important.

But Bonner’s take was somewhat strange as he said, “The message has been made so much now, that just kills this game.

“Every single player out there now has got ready, and you know, you’ve been in the dressing room, you get ready, you go out onto the pitch, and then the game kicks off, and your adrenaline’s high, and suddenly, now you lose concentration.

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“I know it affects both teams the same way. Listen, there’s loads and loads of people out there too who are looking for season tickets.

“My grandson is one of them. For six years he’s been looking for a season ticket and he can’t get a season ticket.”

Is Bonner suggesting that those Celtic fans who are protesting are not real fans and should give up their season ticket?

Bonner’s conflation of season ticket scarcity with the right to protest ignores the fact that those Celtic fans throwing the tennis balls are the ones who have funded the board’s complacency for decades.

That’s what it seems like and comments like that will not go down well with a lot of Celtic supporters.

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