An Online Celtic AGM? If This Is True, It Really Doesn’t Surprise Me 

Well, if this turns out to be true, I can’t say I’m exactly shocked.

There are now claims doing the rounds that Celtic’s next AGM could be moved online, with former Celtic striker Frank McAvennie saying he has been told the meeting will be held digitally rather than with shareholders gathered together in person.

To be absolutely clear, this has NOT been confirmed by Celtic.

So let’s not pretend an online AGM is definitely happening.

But if it does?

It really wouldn’t surprise me.

Because look at the situation Celtic find themselves in.

Last year’s AGM descended into chaos. Supporters booed members of the board, chants of “sack the board” rang around the room and the meeting was eventually brought to a premature conclusion.

And now, almost a year later, the relationship between the hierarchy and sections of the support is arguably even worse.

We’ve had the growing frustration over recruitment and ambition.

We’ve had continued questions about the direction of the football club.

We’ve had the Green Brigade and Celtic Fans Collective clashing with the club.

And now we’ve had the tennis-ball protest at St Andrews, followed by Celtic threatening indefinite bans for those established to have planned, facilitated or participated in it.

So forgive me for looking at the rumour of a digital AGM and thinking:

“Aye, that would be convenient.”

WHAT BETTER WAY TO CONTROL THE ROOM?

Because let’s be honest about what an AGM actually represents.

It’s one of the few occasions when shareholders can get the people running Celtic in the same room and ask them questions.

Not through a carefully worded club statement.

Not through an interview where questions have been prepared.

Not through a press release.

Face to face.

Celtic’s own shareholder information says shareholders are invited to attend the AGM and have the opportunity to ask questions of the board.

And that’s exactly why an in-person AGM matters.

You can’t replicate the atmosphere of a room full of shareholders online.

You can’t replicate the immediate reaction to an answer.

You can’t replicate the uncomfortable silence when someone gives a poor response.

You can’t replicate hundreds of shareholders sitting there waiting for an explanation.

And perhaps most importantly, you can’t simply make the room disappear when the questions become uncomfortable.

AFTER LAST YEAR, I CAN UNDERSTAND WHY THEY MIGHT WANT IT

This is where the cynic in me comes out.

If I were sitting in the Celtic boardroom looking at the current situation, would I want another AGM with hundreds of angry shareholders sitting in front of me?

Probably not.

Would I rather have everyone sitting behind a computer screen?

Probably.

Would it be easier to control proceedings?

Absolutely.

And that is why this rumour is going to raise eyebrows.

Because if the club genuinely decides that the best way forward is to remove the physical meeting altogether, supporters are perfectly entitled to ask why.

Is it genuinely about logistics?

Security?

Cost?

Technology?

Or is it because the board doesn’t fancy another afternoon of facing shareholders who have had enough?

We don’t know.

And until Celtic confirms the format, we shouldn’t pretend we do.

But the timing certainly doesn’t help.

THIS ISN’T JUST ABOUT ST ANDREWS

And this is the other thing Celtic needs to understand.

If the club thinks moving the AGM online will somehow solve its supporter problem, it is massively mistaken.

The frustration is much bigger than one supporter group.

There are shareholders who are unhappy.

Season-ticket holders who are unhappy.

Ordinary supporters who are unhappy.

People who have never been anywhere near the Green Birgade or Celtic Fans Collective who are asking exactly the same questions about Celtic’s direction.

You can’t solve that by moving a meeting onto Zoom.

The questions will still exist.

WHAT ARE WE SUPPOSED TO DO – SEND THEM IN THE CHAT?

Imagine it.

A Celtic AGM.

The board sitting comfortably somewhere.

Hundreds of shareholders logging in.

“Please raise your hand if you have a question.”

“Your microphone has been muted.”

“Thank you for your question, next.”

Maybe I’m being cynical.

But after everything that has happened, you can understand why supporters would look at the prospect and wonder whether this is less about making the AGM accessible and more about making it manageable.

Because there is a huge difference between engaging with supporters and controlling the environment in which supporters are allowed to engage.

AND THIS IS WHY TRUST MATTERS

Celtic’s own website says shareholder meetings provide an opportunity to ask questions of the board.

That isn’t just a technicality.

It’s an important part of accountability.

Supporters aren’t asking to storm the boardroom.

They’re asking to question the people responsible for running the club.

And given Celtic’s financial results for 2025/26, the questions aren’t exactly going to be difficult to imagine. Revenue fell to £111m, the club recorded a £6.6m loss before tax and cash at year-end fell to £66.4m.

Then there are the football questions.

Recruitment.

European failure.

The squad.

Martin O’Neill.

The direction of the club.

The relationship with supporters.

The role of Dermot Desmond.

The recent decision to sever engagement with the Celtic Fans Collective.

The threat of indefinite bans.

There is an awful lot to discuss.

IF IT’S ONLINE, WE’LL BE WATCHING

And that’s the important thing.

If Celtic announce that the AGM is going online, I’m not going to claim automatically that it proves the board is hiding.

It doesn’t.

There could be perfectly legitimate reasons.

But given the circumstances, the club needs to explain the decision properly.

Because right now, it would be incredibly easy for supporters to conclude that the board simply doesn’t want to face the music again.

And after everything that’s happened over the last year, that’s the last thing Celtic needs.

The club’s own shareholder guidance says AGMs are generally held in late November, although dates can change, and the 2026 AGM notice has not yet been issued.

So, for now, we wait.

Time will tell.

But if the rumours are true and Celtic decide that this year’s AGM is going to be conducted from behind computer screens rather than with shareholders in the room, then forgive supporters for asking one very simple question:

What are they so afraid of us asking?

Because an AGM shouldn’t be something the board tries to survive.

It should be something the board welcomes.

If Celtic genuinely believes it is doing a fantastic job, then face the shareholders.

Stand in front of us.

Answer the questions.

Take the criticism.

Defend the decisions.

And if the answers are good enough, perhaps you’ll even win people around.

But moving the whole thing online, after last year’s chaos and everything that has happened since?

It certainly won’t do anything to convince supporters that this board is interested in being held accountable.

And if anything, it’ll only make the suspicion worse.

Time will tell, bhoys.

But if this AGM disappears behind a screen, I don’t think many Celtic supporters will be surprised.

Because when the relationship between a board and its supporters has deteriorated this badly, the last thing the board seems to want is to be sitting in the same room as them.