The much anticipated meeting between the Celtic Fans Collective and the club’s hierarchy took place at Celtic Park on Monday night, but any hopes of meaningful progress quickly faded.
Represented by CEO Michael Nicholson and CFO Chris McKay, the Celtic board faced a room of fan delegates seeking straight answers to long standing questions raised in an open letter signed by over 420 supporter groups and individuals.
The meeting, attended by key club staff including Supporter Liaison Officer John Paul Taylor, was expected to deliver tangible action and renewed trust. Instead, according to the Collective, it reinforced deep frustrations.
In a summary published on Monday evening, the Collective described a recurring “lack of humility, awareness and accountability” throughout the discussion. They noted that while the atmosphere remained respectful, the club’s leadership continually rejected the premise of several questions and downplayed structural and cultural failings as mere communication issues.
The club defended both its footballing and transfer strategies, insisting the system was functioning and pointing to European qualification as proof. Nicholson and McKay cited challenges such as foreign tax laws as obstacles in the transfer market but claimed the club’s multi disciplinary approach was working as intended.
When pressed on accountability, the response was less convincing. The Collective reported that the club “rejected the premise of the question” and offered little evidence of external oversight or willingness to implement substantive change.
Perhaps most tellingly, when asked about allegations that a senior official had briefed The Sun against manager Brendan Rodgers, the issue was dismissed by Nicholson as “closed.” The club claimed the matter had been internally discussed but saw no reason for further investigation.
The Collective concluded that the meeting “produced no tangible outcomes” and left many participants feeling that the club’s leadership remains “detached from the concerns of its supporters.” The group said it will now consult with its members to decide the next steps in what it calls a “campaign for positive change.”
Below, readers can view the full text of the Celtic Fans Collective’s summary from the meeting:
FULL CELTIC COLLECTIVE STATEMENT:
Yesterday evening, 06/10/2025, the Celtic Fans Collective met with Celtic Football Club to discuss the collective concerns of the Celtic support. The meeting was to seek answers to the questions addressed to the Celtic Board in the Open Letter of 03/09/2025 which amassed over 420 signatories, as well as to understand what lessons have been learned and what changes will be made to avoid similar mistakes being repeated. Representing the
Celtic Board at the meeting was Michael Nicholson, Chief Executive Officer, and Chris
McKay, Chief Financial Officer. Also in attendance from Celtic Football Club was John Paul
Taylor, Supporter Liaison Officer; Kevin McQuillan, Head of Commercial Operations; George Campbell, Head of Legal and Governance; Mark Hargreaves, Head of Safety, Security and Operations.
At the beginning of the meeting, a representative of the Collective clearly laid out the context which brought us to this point and set out the Collective’s expectations of the meeting. It was made clear that the Collective expected reasonable answers to the existing
questions and some form of tangible action points moving forward. The Collective acknowledged that while the positions of Michael Nicholson and Chris McKay are in our view untenable, there was no expectation of agreement or progress on that during the meeting and discussions would remain respectful and constructive.
The meeting was structured by working through the questions of the Open Letter, although
there was some natural deviation. A recurring theme, through all answers and discussions, was a lack of humility, awareness and accountability. At various points, the Club deferred to communication and perception being the causes of concern rather than structure, performance or culture. The Club also repeatedly questioned or rejected the premise of questions.
The Club defended its footballing strategy although accepted it could be better communicated to fans. Overall, the Club believes the football strategy is working and pointed to participation in European competition as evidence of its success.
Similarly, the Club defended its transfer strategy citing different factors for transfer activity being difficult (for example tax laws in different European countries) while pointing to examples which they believe is evidence of the strategy working.
The Club said that transfer business involves a multi-disciplinary model and no part of that
model has ultimate authority, however did cede that there are thresholds where the Board of Directors must authorise increased transfer payments. When pressed on this point, the
Club claimed emails would be sent to Board members for authorisation where necessary.
When pressed on accountability for failings, the Club rejected the premise of the question but referred to internal reviews and the experience of long-serving Non-Executive
Directors. The Club provided little evidence of independent oversight and no belief that substantive change may be required.
The allegation of a senior Club official briefing against the Manager to The Sun was described as “closed” by Michael Nicholson. The Club was unwilling to divulge much information although claimed a conversation took place between the Board and the Manager. The Club suggested that the allegation was unsubstantiated and did not require further investigation.
In conclusion, the Collective expressed disappointment that the Club remained unwilling to engage meaningfully on questions of leadership, governance, and accountability. The meeting produced no tangible outcomes, and many participants left with the view that the
Club’s leadership remains detached from the concerns of its supporters and reluctant to confront the need for change.
Full minutes of the meeting will be published as soon as possible.
The Celtic Fans Collective will continue to consult with members to plan next steps in our campaign for positive change at Celtic Football Club. It is our strong belief that yesterday’smeeting compounded the necessity and urgency of change
Why would the change anything it works very well for them plenty cash all round big bonuses and guilt edge pension , stop giving them your money
Lbh they are trying to take us all for a ride, give us your money we are doing great!
Absolute charlatans of the highest order… they don’t want to explicitly divulge their strategy as it is about fattening up the balance sheet to pay out huge salaries to one another… It is working very well for that purpose. I wonder what some of the so called celebrity fans think? Not Sir Rod, but wonder if any others out there would be a voice for change? Get demonstrating at DDs golf events… Publicly shaming this mob is the priority.
It’s no surprise that these insignificant puppet members of the Board were offered up as a token gesture for a meeting with the fans collective and even less surprising that their rehearsed rejection of any need for change was the line taken – the Board are only interested in ensuring fans keep buying tickets and merchandise but as far as taking fans’ concerns seriously, that’s pie in the sky.
The fact that the experience of ‘non-Executive Directors’ was mentioned in regard to ‘internal review’ says it all – we know who controls things behind the scenes and his greedy, arrogant and condescending attitude has been a feature of his tenure for many years. He undermined Rodgers last time around and the briefing against Rodgers this time around has all the hallmarks of his treacherous nature. He runs the club like his own fiefdom and the sooner he is forcibly retired from any role in the club the better.