Former Celtic star Karamoko Dembélé believes he was picked on at the club after emerging as a young talent. The now QPR winger came through at Parkhead and made eight senior appearances before going on to join Brest and then making his way down South via Blackpool.
In an interview with The Athletic this week, Dembélé revealed he was racially bullied during his time with the Scotland youth ranks, and the Scottish FA have responded to that with an apology, confirming they have reached out to Dembélé to offer support.
Dembélé has switched youth allegiance to England, but now 23 years of age, and unlikely to ever be a senior England international, he remains eligible for Scotland, where a senior appearance is on the cards.
But Dembélé also spoke about coming through at Celtic, where he believes he was targeted by some Scottish players, in particular, although he did not name names.
“I was being targeted by some. In a tackle, some would leave a bit more on it. It might have been to toughen me up but if I reacted, then I had a bad attitude," said the winger.
“So I can’t react, but if I play football a certain way, I was having myself [being cocky], and probably going to get injured. I couldn’t win. Some people thought I should be more humble but I’m not taking s*** just because I’m up here [at first-team level at that age]. ‘It’s not my fault I’m up here’. I didn’t conform to that.
“I don’t like using the race thing, but because I was black and confident, maybe they did think I was having myself. But I was just having myself at what I was good at. If I was myself, I was probably going to get injured. I was thinking, ‘I can’t win here’.
“The foreign players [at the club] didn’t think anything of how I was. They all have their own personality and character. It was always more the Scottish players. I always think if I had been somewhere else I would have been treated and cared for a lot more.”
Dembélé joined QPR from Brest in 2025 after a successful loan spell during the previous season. He has since made 28 league appearances as a permanent QPR player, scoring once from out wide. The former Bhoys starlet has struggled with injury so far this season, but he is close to returning to training.
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