Desmond targeted by Celtic fan protest at Alfred Dunhill

What the report says

Celtic Football Club’s largest shareholder, Dermot Desmond, was the focus of a fan protest during the Alfred Dunhill Links golf tournament in St Andrews, according to BBC Sport Football. The report said tennis balls were thrown toward him on the 15th green of the pro-am event, with some marked with crossed-out images of his face. Images from the scene showed Desmond being escorted from the course by security.

The Celtic Fans Collective later said in a statement that the protest was meant to challenge Desmond’s influence over the club. In comments shared with footage and images of the incident, the group accused him of being able to run the club without proper accountability and said supporters wanted to signal that the situation should not continue.

BBC Sport noted that Desmond remains the Scottish Premiership club’s biggest individual shareholder and has faced criticism from some fans in recent seasons over Celtic’s results in Europe and transfer decisions. The article also pointed to earlier tensions between the board and supporters, including an abandoned annual general meeting last November and previous criticism from Desmond of fan unrest. The episode adds to a longer-running dispute between sections of the support and the club’s leadership.