Celtic soccer fans protest tapping of Robbie Keane as coach over stint in Tel Aviv

Keane joined Maccabi Tel Aviv as coach in June 2023 and won a title, but left amid the Gaza war; pro-Palestinian fans of Scottish team call decision to hire him ‘unconscionable’

Celtic’s interest in appointing Robbie Keane as its new manager has sparked anger among the marquee Scottish soccer club’s pro-Palestinian fans due to his previous role with Maccabi Tel Aviv.

Keane is the leading contender to take charge of the Scottish champions after reportedly entering talks with the club’s principal shareholder, Dermot Desmond.

Keane, a former star striker who is Ireland’s all-time top goalscorer, enjoyed a prolific loan spell at Celtic in 2010.

In June 2023, prior to the Hamas-led October 7 invasion, he signed a two-year contract to become the head coach of Maccabi Tel Aviv, saying in a statement that he was “delighted to take on this challenge at Maccabi.”

But he left after just a year amid the war in Gaza, following the team’s 2024 championship season, a decision he called “difficult.”

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Nevertheless, his choice to stay in Israel after October 7 and the beginning of the subsequent war in Gaza sparked criticism in Ireland and turned a vocal section of the Celtic fan base against him.

Celtic supporters have displayed Palestinian flags at matches throughout the conflict.

Now graffiti and banners opposing the prospect of Keane becoming manager have appeared outside Celtic’s stadium in Glasgow.

A statement from a group called Celtic Fans for the Liberation of Palestine said hiring Keane “would be deeply divisive among the support.”

The Celtic board has wasted little time in sowing division. From initiating bans to considering a hugely divisive figure as manager.

Until there is meaningful change in personnel and culture within the Celtic hierarchy then there will be no sustained unity across the club. pic.twitter.com/0LNJRunJXT

— North Curve Celtic (@NCCeltic) June 4, 2026

The North Curve Celtic account on X, which represents a contingent of the team’s regular attendees, has published a list of 67 groups that endorsed the statement.

“Celtic supporters have a long and proud history of solidarity with the Palestinian people,” the statement said. “For us, Robbie Keane’s decision to manage Maccabi Tel Aviv during the genocide in Gaza is impossible to ignore.”

It added, “To choose to manage a club in Israel while, less than 40 miles away, the same country was using indiscriminate weapons of mass murder against defenseless people is unconscionable.”

The statement also alluded to the team’s founding in the 1880s as part of a charity drive.

“Celtic was founded by a community shaped by the legacy of genocide, displacement and famine,” it said. “Our club’s roots lie in solidarity with those who suffered injustice and oppression.

The 45-year-old Keane guided Maccabi to the league and cup double before resigning in 2024 and moving to Hungarian club Ferencvaros in 2025. Keane said he had stayed for the full Maccabi campaign partly because of his responsibility to the staff he took with him to Israel.

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