Celtic fans staged a major protest against the club board at Celtic Park before their league match against Falkirk following another Champions League exit. Supporters from the Green Brigade and Bhoys groups targeted senior executives after the Scottish team failed to hold a 3-0 first-leg lead against Austrian side LASK, losing 5-1 after extra time.
The defeat allowed LASK to celebrate qualification for the Champions League, while Celtic suffered another elimination at the same qualifying stage where Kazakh team Kairat Almaty knocked them out one year earlier. Celtic, based in Glasgow, play their home matches at Celtic Park.
The patience of a section of the support ran out prior to kickoff, with the North Curve stand becoming the focal point of the demonstration. Organisers held club leadership responsible for recurring failures in European competition.
Demonstrators displayed banners featuring slogans calling for the board to be sacked and describing the situation as a world-class disgrace. Protesters also displayed images of key leadership figures, including Chief Executive Michael Nicholson, Dermot Desmond, Chief Financial Officer Chris McKay, and Head of Security Mark Hargreaves.
European failures highlighted by supporters
Along with targeting current management, supporters highlighted a list of clubs that have eliminated Celtic from European tournaments over the past dozen years. Among the sides featured on the stands was Polish club Legia Warsaw, recalling one of the most unusual ties in European football history.
In the 2014 Champions League qualifiers, Legia Warsaw dominated Celtic on the pitch, winning 6-1 on aggregate over the two legs. However, Legia were denied advancement because player Bartosz Bereszyński was brought on in the closing minutes of the second leg while ineligible to play.
European football governing body UEFA subsequently awarded Celtic a 3-0 walkover win for the second leg. The decision adjusted the aggregate score to 4-4, sending the Scottish club through on the away goals rule in place at the time.
Although Celtic officially advanced, the on-pitch defeat to the Warsaw team remains a prominent memory among supporters cataloguing the club's European disappointments.
