Celtic's pretty underwhelming pre-season continues. The Hoops first drew 1-1 with Shelbourne at Tolka Park, Shin Yamada's stoppage time penalty salvaging a draw in Ireland, before being thumped 4-1 by Sporting CP at Estádio Algarve in mid-week. Back at home on Saturday, the Celts drew 1-1 with EFL Championship side Middlesbrough. New signing Camilo Durán lashed home a first half equaliser, coming five minutes after Boro had taken the lead.
However, it was not on-field issues that had supporters talking. Around kick off at 3 o'clock on Saturday, pictures emerged of a very empty Parkhead. Considering it is just a three hour drive from Middlesbrough up to Glasgow, around 5,000 Boro fans were in attendance, but they were barely outnumbered by their counterparts bedecked in green and white hoops.
The turnout for today’s match.
— Everything Celtic (@aboutceltic) July 18, 2026
The first message of the season has been sent. pic.twitter.com/d9lZrw9MSg
After the match, when asked about the low attendance, Martin O'Neill came out with these bizarre comments:
"This is not 25 years ago when you would fill the stadium for a pre-season friendly. It is not, life has changed. "
He also acknowledged that it is "pretty expensive to come to football matches", something more prominent figures working at the elite-level in football should recognise, as ticket prices continue to go up, and up and up. In this incidence though, the manager totally missed the point. Supporters are disillusioned with how the club is being run, actively boycotting these pre-season matches, protesting against a board that has poorly run the club for some time now.
As proof of this, let's take a look back at recent attendances for other pre-season matches at Parkhead.
Celtic Park pre-season attendances (2023-present).
Year | Opponent | Attendance | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
2025 | Newcastle | 55,000 (including 7,200 away) | Sky Sports |
2023 | Athletic Club | 42,000 | Sky Sports |
Just a year ago, Celtic Park was more or less full for the visit of Newcastle, a match Celtic won 4-0 by the way, doing so in convincing fashion. Yes, more members of the Toon Army ventured north of the border than Boro fans did on Saturday, but the Celtic support equally showed up for this game, underlining that O'Neill's comment are nonsense.
The only way a fan base can get their voices heard is by voting with their feet and, while many fans do not want to miss out on competitive fixtures, these pre-season games offer the perfect chance to hit the ownership where it hurts. Next weekend, Celtic have arranged a glamour friendly against seven-times European champions A.C. Milan.
The question now is, how full will Parkhead be for that one? The Milan players and officials will probably be pretty baffled is they turn up to an eerily empty stadium next weekend. Presumably, the Serie A giants have been guaranteed a fee for coming over to play this game, one Celtic believed they would earn back through ticket and concession revenue, but they may have been wrong in that assumption.
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