Daizen Maeda delivered a moment of light-hearted brilliance amidst a serious protest from Celtic fans during Saturday’s dominant 5-0 win over Dundee United at Tannadice.
Celtic’s Daizen Maeda celebrates scoring their second goal REUTERS/Russell Cheyne
In the first half, play was halted for over two minutes as hundreds of tangerines rained down onto the pitch from the away end, with Hoops fans making their feelings clear about the £42 ticket pricing for the match. Alongside the fruit shower, a banner was unfurled reading: “Enjoy the fruits of our labour,” voicing frustration over the steep costs compared to the £10 home end promotion.
While players and officials helped clear the pitch, Maeda’s response caught the eye as the Japanese forward was spotted casually peeling one of the tangerines thrown onto the pitch.
Daizen Maeda, hilarious! Celtic did a tangerine protest at the Dundee United ticket price hike so tangerines were thrown onto the pitch, and Maeda picked one up and either ate it or pretended to eat it 🤣 pic.twitter.com/BmQjgULg27
— The Global Tablet of Jurisprudence (@gtj1247) April 26, 2025
The forward’s reaction went down well among fans, offering a flash of humour amid the serious message being sent by the travelling support.
The forward has been in great form this season, and is topping the scoring charts.
When Kyogo left in January, there was some concern about who would step up, especially when there was no obvious replacement brought in. But, his countryman, Maeda, stepped up to the plate and has been in tremendous goal-scoring form.
All eyes are now on the treble for Celtic.
