Celtic Bias in Scottish Football: The History Never Ended — It Just Changed Form

Celtic bias in Scottish football is usually dismissed with one word: paranoia.

But what happens when mistrust is built not on one decision, but on generations of documented controversy and a modern media culture that can still appear remarkably quick to assume the worst of Celtic?

That is why Dougie Potter’s flag against Falkirk matters.

Camilo Duran was through after Scott Bain lost control. Potter raised his flag before the attack had properly concluded. Duran scored. VAR checked it. He was onside and the goal stood.

The Scottish FA’s own guidance says that on a close offside call an assistant should delay the flag and, if a goal is scored, raise it afterwards.

One premature flag does not prove corruption.

But it lands differently when viewed through Celtic’s history.

Celtic bias in Scottish football did not begin with VAR

Celtic were formally constituted in 1887 by Brother Walfrid and others in Glasgow’s East End to raise money for people living in poverty.

Celtic FC Foundation records that although the community was predominantly Irish Catholic, the club was to place no barrier of faith, colour, creed or race on those it helped.

Across Glasgow, Rangers developed a very different historical identity.

For decades the club operated an infamous unwritten policy of not knowingly signing Catholics. Maurice Johnston’s arrival in 1989 was explosive precisely because it shattered that culture.

UEFA’s 2006 reasoning over “The Billy Boys” was equally uncomfortable.

European football’s governing body noted that the song had been sung for years while Scottish football and governmental authorities had failed to stop it, creating a culture in which it had become tolerated.

That history cannot simply be erased.

Fergus McCann proved why scrutiny matters

Then came Jorge Cadete.

Celtic believed the striker’s registration had been improperly delayed in 1996. Fergus McCann refused to accept the explanation and pursued the matter.

Independent arbitration eventually found serious fault, and SFA chief executive Jim Farry was dismissed for gross misconduct in 1999.

Celtic supporters had effectively been expected to accept that nothing improper had happened.

McCann demanded scrutiny.

He was vindicated.

In 2010 Scottish refereeing suffered another credibility crisis.

Dougie McDonald admitted misleading Neil Lennon and his superiors about the reversal of a Celtic penalty against Dundee United. He later retired.

At almost the same time, Hugh Dallas left his position as the SFA’s head of refereeing following disciplinary proceedings concerning an offensive email relating to the Pope.

These are not internet rumours.

They happened.

Today the battleground is also the media

Fast-forward to May 16, 2026.

Celtic beat Hearts 3-1 in a breathtaking title decider.

Supporters entering the pitch was wrong. Celtic apologised.

But almost immediately the story became something considerably darker.

Pat Nevin spoke during BBC coverage as though Hearts players had been attacked. Ryan Stevenson referred to a player being attacked. Andy Halliday said they had been “led to believe” Hearts players had been struck.

Then Hearts investor Tony Bloom went on talkSPORT with Jim White and claimed that one or two Hearts players had been assaulted.

That was an enormously serious allegation.

Martin O’Neill responded exactly as someone should when allegations of assault are being broadcast nationally.

Where was the evidence?

O’Neill said Celtic had examined footage and could not find anything supporting the allegation. He also questioned why White had not pressed Bloom harder on such a severe claim.

Later, Hearts midfielder Cammy Devlin said none of the players had been hurt.

Nevin subsequently acknowledged that he had made a major mistake in what he believed he had witnessed.

The pitch invasion deserved criticism.

But a pitch invasion and an assault are not the same thing.

Why did certainty arrive before evidence?

That question remains uncomfortable.

Kris Boyd was also among the prominent voices discussing the fallout while programmes and podcasts were already framing the story around “reports” of Hearts players and staff being assaulted.

Again, reporting an allegation is not the same as deliberately lying.

But the cumulative effect was extraordinary.

Celtic had just completed a remarkable championship comeback.

Yet within hours the achievement itself appeared almost secondary to accusations surrounding the support.

Then came Keith Jackson’s “missing minute”

As the assault story gathered pace, another controversy appeared.

Daily Record writer Keith Jackson centred coverage on a supposed “missing minute” of football after the Hearts match ended amid the pitch invasion.

Then the Scottish FA released the officials’ audio.

It showed referee Don Robertson had communicated with Derek McInnes, Hearts were happy for the game to end, and the match clock had reached 98:07 after a minimum eight minutes had been indicated.

The SFA publicly stated Robertson had taken the correct action.

Again, the dramatic narrative arrived first.

The evidence arrived later.

And there is academic evidence suggesting Celtic supporters are justified in at least examining how their club is portrayed.

Research by Joseph Bradley has argued that sections of Scotland’s print media have historically helped reflect, create, sustain and disseminate prejudice surrounding Celtic’s Irish identity.

Separate academic work examining Neil Lennon found his Irish identity and Catholic background became incorporated into media narratives portraying him as an outsider.

That does not mean every journalist is anti-Celtic.

It does mean supporters are entitled to question recurring patterns of language and framing.

Celtic bias in Scottish football still raises questions

Only days ago Celtic and Rangers were both ordered to play their next home Scottish Cup ties behind closed doors and compensate opponents £100,000 following the March disorder at Ibrox.

Celtic supporters unquestionably entered the pitch and the club was responsible for the behaviour of its own following.

But Celtic were the away club.

Ibrox stadium security was not Celtic’s operation.

Yet Celtic received the same headline punishment, prompting the club to call the sanction disproportionate.

Whether someone agrees with Celtic or not, it provides another example of why supporters ask how responsibility is apportioned.

For balance, Celtic sometimes benefit from refereeing mistakes.

The SFA’s own Key Match Incident panel concluded that the late Motherwell penalty which helped Celtic remain in the 2026 title race should not have been awarded.

That matters.

The argument should never be that every referee is corrupt or every decision goes one way.

The deeper argument is about trust.

When Scottish football’s history contains anti-Catholic exclusion, tolerated sectarianism, Jim Farry, Dougie McDonald and Hugh Dallas; when serious allegations about Celtic supporters can dominate broadcasts before the evidence appears; and when an experienced assistant raises an incorrect flag before a close attacking move has finished, supporters will connect the dots.

Perhaps some connections will be wrong.

But Scottish football cannot spend decades creating mistrust and then sneer when people mistrust it.

Celtic supporters do not need conspiracy theories.

The documented history is powerful enough.

And the events of 2026 suggest the argument over fairness, accountability and the way Celtic are portrayed is not confined to the past.

It is happening now.

Key Takeaways

• Dougie Potter’s offside flag against Falkirk was overturned by VAR, with Camilo Duran shown to be onside.
• Scottish FA guidance says assistants should delay the flag during close offside calls in clear attacking situations.
• Celtic supporters’ mistrust has documented historical foundations, including Rangers’ former anti-Catholic recruitment culture, Jim Farry and the Scottish refereeing controversies of 2010.
• Serious assault allegations circulated after Celtic’s 2026 title victory before publicly available evidence established that Hearts players had been assaulted.
• The Scottish FA subsequently demolished the “missing minute” controversy by releasing the match officials’ audio.
• Academic research has specifically examined recurring Scottish media narratives involving Celtic’s Irish Catholic identity.
• None of this proves every modern referee or journalist is biased against Celtic. It does explain why demands for transparency and accountability refuse to disappear.