Large group of fans rally outside Celtic Park to protest Rangers defeat

Add as preferred source on Google

Celtic’s defeat against Rangers was the worst start to 2026 that Hoops fans could’ve asked for.

If there’s any consolation, it’s that it wasn’t a huge surprise given how Wilfried Nancy’s reign has gone so far.

Things didn’t look so bad in the first half, as an excellent opener by Yang Hyun-Jun put the Hoops in front at the break.

But as soon as Youssef Chermiti equalised, the sequence of events immediately became predictable. Celtic didn’t look like getting back into the game at all, and didn’t.

In a season of Celtic fan unrest and protests, it was a new low – and we witnessed more fan unhappiness after full-time outside the stadium.

Celtic fans protest defeat vs Rangers

In the establishing of the Celtic Fans Collective this season, we have seen the biggest mobilisation of Celtic fans since the 1990s.

Michael Nicholson, Dermot Desmond and Paul Tisdale’s influences at the club have all come under intense criticism.

READ MORE: Hugh Keevins rages back at Wilfried Nancy’s ‘do your job’ comment at Celtic presser

Chants of ‘sack the board’ – and others that we can’t transcribe here – were heard, as a fairly large number of police formed outside the front of the stadium.

It’s far from the first form of protest that we’ve seen this season. The Collective initially staged a protest at an away game against Kilmarnock in September, where fans didn’t enter the stands until the eighth minute.

Since then, we have seen a wide range of banners, silent protests and the establishing of the ‘Not Another Penny’ Campaign.

CEO Nicholson agreed to meet with the Collective in October, but this meeting was just as unproductive as you can imagine – it’s most remembered for the board chief shrugging his shoulders at a question about transfers.

Brendan Rodgers suddenly departed the club shortly after, and the club’s response to this was telling, with Desmond essentially blaming all of the season’s issues on the manager.

And who could forget the chaotic AGM which had to be adjourned early, as board members were heckled and Ross Desmond read out an astonishing statement about fans being ‘bullies’.

Michael Nicholson’s message on Celtic boss Wilfried Nancy

One of many criticisms levelled at Nicholson has been his lack of communication, but he did give a rare address shortly after the appointment of Nancy.

He said on Celtic’s media channels: “There’s a lot of work to do, and Wilfried was very clear that he wanted to get straight into it. 

“You could sense the excitement at Lennoxtown introducing Wilfried to the staff, and also for Wilfried to have the opportunity to meet with Martin.

“It was a good day, but this is where the work starts.

“When we identified Wilfried as our primary candidate, we had to go to work to make sure that we could deliver Wilfried and his staff, the club he was working with at the time clearly were keen to keep a hold of Wilfried.

“So, we were delighted to get through that process and bring him in.

“And once we had achieved that, we wanted to get Wilfried started as quickly as possible.”