A proposed move to bring former Irish football star Robbie Keane in as the next manager of Scottish Premiership champions Celtic has triggered widespread vocal and public pushback from the club’s pro-Palestine supporter base, over Keane’s decision to remain in his role at Israeli top-flight side Maccabi Tel Aviv after the outbreak of the latest Gaza conflict. Keane, who remains the Republic of Ireland’s all-time leading goalscorer and previously enjoyed a successful loan spell at Parkhead back in 2010, has emerged as the top candidate for the vacant managerial post, with reports confirming he has already entered direct talks with Celtic’s majority principal shareholder Dermot Desmond. What was shaping up as a potential popular homecoming for the fan-favorite former player has quickly turned into a major controversy, however, rooted in Keane’s 2023-2024 tenure at Maccabi Tel Aviv. Keane was first appointed to lead the Israeli side in June 2023, months before the October 7 Hamas attacks that prompted Israel’s large-scale military campaign in Gaza. Rather than stepping down from his role immediately after the conflict began, Keane chose to see out the full domestic season, guiding Maccabi Tel Aviv to a domestic league and cup double before resigning in 2024 and taking the top job at Hungarian side Ferencvaros in 2025. He has previously defended his decision to stay, noting he felt a professional responsibility to the coaching and backroom staff he had brought with him to the club. For a large and vocal segment of Celtic’s supporter base, that choice is unacceptable. Celtic fans have longstanding and well-documented commitments to Palestinian solidarity, regularly displaying large Palestine flags at club matches throughout the ongoing conflict. In recent weeks, as rumors of Keane’s impending appointment have spread, opponents have taken visible action to make their anger known: anti-Keane graffiti and protest banners have already appeared around the perimeter of Celtic’s Glasgow stadium, Parkhead. A formal statement coordinated by the group Celtic Fans for the Liberation of Palestine argues that hiring Keane would create deep, lasting division among the club’s global support base. As of press time, 67 separate Celtic supporter groups have publicly endorsed the anti-Keane statement, via the popular North Curve Celtic account on the social platform X. The statement emphasizes that Celtic’s own founding identity is rooted in solidarity with oppressed and displaced communities: the club was established in 1887 by Irish immigrant communities in Glasgow, who carried direct intergenerational memories of the Great Famine and colonial displacement. “Celtic supporters have a long and proud history of solidarity with the Palestinian people,” the statement reads. “For us, Robbie Keane’s decision to manage Maccabi Tel Aviv during the genocide in Gaza is impossible to ignore. 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 defenceless people is unconscionable. Celtic was founded by a community shaped by the legacy of genocide, displacement and famine. Our club’s roots lie in solidarity with those who suffered injustice and oppression. We urge the Celtic board to listen to supporters’ concerns and reconsider this appointment.” The vacancy for the managerial role opened up at the end of the 2024-2025 season, with interim manager Martin O’Neill, 74, stepping in to guide the club to a Scottish Premiership title and Scottish Cup victory on a temporary basis after the departure of the previous permanent manager.