On Saturday at the Old Corso to Sant’Andreaa DP World Tour golf tournament was interrupted by soccer protesters throwing tennis balls to voice their grievances.
You are forgiven if you have to read it twice.
The tournament was the year of the DP World Tour Alfred Dunhill Links Championship. Not only are the Dunhill Links played on iconic courses – the Old Course, Carnoustie and Kingsbarns – they include simultaneous pro-am competition with business tycoons, celebrities, star athletes, players’ family members and more.
The last point is crucial for this story, because the subject of the anger of the protesters in St. Andrews was one of the pro-am competitors: Celtic Football Club owner Dermot Desmond.
Dermot Desmond aims for protest (and tennis balls) at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship
A primary witness of the strange scene that broke out on Saturday in St. Andrews was the star of the PGA Tour Brooks Koepka. U five-time major champion playing at Dunhill Links this week with Desmond as his partner.
As they were playing on the 15th green at the Old Course during the third round on Saturday, dozens of tennis balls started flying through the air, landing near them and bouncing in all directions. Each ball had stickers attached with a crossed out picture of Desmond.
A video of the incident was posted to X by the Celtic Fans Collective, which you can view here or below.
Dermot Desmond has essentially been allowed to run Celtic Football Club while using his wealth to hide from supporters and accountability. Fans took the opportunity today to send a message that this arrangement cannot continue. pic.twitter.com/Dx3fubN2Xp
— Celtic Fans Collective (@CFC_Collective) October 3, 2026
What was the Celtic tennis ball demonstration?
As mentioned earlier, the protest was directed at Desmond, not Koepka, and had nothing to do with golf.
Desmond is an Irish billionaire and the long-time majority shareholder of Celtic Football Club. Celtic is based in Glasgow, Scotland and competes in the Scottish Premiership.
It turns out that disgruntled Celtic fans were behind the strange action.
The group claiming responsibility for the protest was the Celtic Fans Collective, the supporters’ group for the club.
Based on a statement released by the group, fans have expressed their displeasure with what they say is a lack of accountability from Desmond while leading the team.
“Dermot Desmond is essentially being allowed to run Celtic Football Club while using his wealth to hide from supporters and accountability,” the group’s statement said. “Fans took the opportunity today to send a message that this arrangement cannot continue.”
In his own statement after the Sant’Andrea protestCeltic Football Club said it “condemns in the strongest possible terms the deliberate disruption which took place today at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship at St Andrews”, calling it a “premeditated act”.
The club later hit out at the Celtic Fans Collective, saying “those responsible have brought shame to the name of Celtic Football Club and the reputation that generations of Celtic supporters have spent over a century building”.
The statement continued to distinguish between past protests that have occurred in Celtic events and this one, which occurred on a large stage of another professional sport in one of the most expensive places of golf.
“Today represents a further and more serious escalation,” read the club’s statement. “This time the disruption was done entirely outside of Celtic and outside of football, by introducing an unrelated sporting event and targeting an individual while participating in that event in a private capacity.”
The statement continued: “The Club will not be intimidated or coerced by organized acts of disruption… The Club no longer accepts that the Celtic Fans Collective can credibly believe they represent the wider Celtic support.”
Finally, the club said it was severing all ties with the Celtic Fans Collective as a result of this incident. Additionally, any individual directly involved in the protest will be “indefinitely banned” from the football club’s home stadium.
“The conduct of the past year, culminating in today’s events, has shown that the basis for constructive engagement has been fundamentally undermined. As a result, the Club no longer recognizes the Celtic Fans Collective as a representative body that speaks on behalf of Celtic supporters and will cease any engagement with the collective with immediate effect,” read the statement. “The Club is looking into today’s events. Any individuals or groups who are found to be involved in planning, facilitating or participating in this action will be banned indefinitely from Celtic Park.”