Celtic Shareholder Dermot Desmond Targeted in Golf Course Protest

Dermot Desmond, Celtic Football Club's largest shareholder, was the target of a protest at the Alfred Dunhill Links golf tournament in St Andrews on Saturday. Tennis balls, some bearing images of the 76-year-old's face scored out, were thrown onto the 15th hole green during the pro-am competition.

Images and footage of the incident, released by the Celtic Fans Collective, show Desmond being escorted off the course by security personnel. The group issued a statement asserting that Desmond has "essentially been allowed to run Celtic Football Club whilst using his wealth to hide from supporters and accountability." They added, "Fans took the chance today to send a message that this arrangement cannot continue."

Desmond, an Irish billionaire, has faced criticism in recent seasons regarding the Scottish Premiership club's performance in European competitions and its transfer activity. He is the club's largest individual shareholder.

Earlier in the 2025-26 campaign, following the resignation of then-manager Brendan Rodgers, Desmond attributed many of the season's early problems to the former coach. Later, at Celtic's annual general meeting in November, which was disrupted by fan unrest and ultimately abandoned, Desmond's son Ross read a statement on his behalf. In that statement, he defended his father as a "lifelong and passionate" Celtic supporter and declared the board would not be "bullied by aggressive and irrational" criticism. The statement also defended then-chairman Peter Lawwell and chief executive Michael Nicholson, calling attempts to "dehumanise and vilify them are shameful." Desmond also criticized a segment of fans, referring to them as "bullies," in response to an incident that led to the banning of the Green Brigade ultras group.