Politicians and Celtic – Some incredibly bizarre stories

The Celtic Star

·4 January 2025

Politicians and Celtic – Some incredibly bizarre stories

In an event which has sparked controversy, former Man City player Mikheil Kavelashvili is now the President of Georgia…

Mikheil Kavelashvili takes an oath during his swearing-in ceremony held at the Parliament building in Tbilisi, Georgia, 29 December, 2024. Photo IMAGO

It’s not been unknown for various Celtic figures – including players – to have connections with elections and politics. This includes some of the most famous names in the club’s history.

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Thatcher shown the red card

Fans of a certain age will remember the ‘red card’ protest against Margaret Thatcher in the 1988 Scottish Cup Final. However, this does not mean that all people connected with Celtic support these opinions.

Celtic fans protest against Thatcher at the 1988 Scottish Cup Final. Photo The Celtic Wiki

One very notable Celt who actually became a politician was Lisbon hero Ronnie Simpson. In 1970, he was elected as an Edinburgh councillor for the Progressive Party. This was a political group similar in belief to the Conservatives.

Ronnie Simpson (Celtic) Date: 1st September 1967. Photo imago/Kicker.

Despite what Celtic fans may think about general beliefs, this is not the only player who has supported these views. One example is 1980s hero Murdo MacLeod, who later became the Bhoys’ assistant manager too. In 2010, he voiced his support for the Conservatives in a Scottish Parliamentary election.

Footballers earn much more than the average worker, so maybe it’s not surprise that they’re more likely to back right-wing policies. Frank McAvennie – Celtic’s centenary season hero – once praised Tory Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher for cutting higher levels of tax.

1988: Frank McAvennie of Celtic celebrates after the Scottish Cup Final match against Dundee United at Hampden . Celtic won the match 2-1. Photo: Allsport

Ronnie Simpson and Billy McNeill both stood for election

In Celtic history, it’s difficult to name many people who have been more significant than Billy McNeill. Celtic’s Lisbon captain was an iconic captain and also manager, leading the Bhoys to many dramatic trophy winning moments.

Billy McNeill Glasgow Celtic captain. 17 May 1967. Photo TopFotox IMAGO

In 2003, he tried get elected as an MSP for the Scottish Senior Citizens’ Unity Party. Showing efforts made to attract publicity, the former Rangers player Eric Caldow also stood for the party. Ultimately, although both men helped raise the profile of their campaign, neither succeeded in these election hopes.

Lubo Moravcik got into politics

In recent times, the most high-profile Celt to stand for election is 1990s and early-2000s player Lubo Moravcik, who has become a politician in his homeland.

9 Nov 2000: Lubo Moravcik of Celtic shoots past David Sommeil of Bordeaux to score during the UEFA Cup Second Round, Second Leg match between Celtic and Bordeaux played at Celtic Park. Photo Mark Thompson/ALLSPORT

In 2022, he stood in two elections in his native Slovakia. The first attempt was as an independent candidate, but he failed to be elected to the regional parliament. However, he also stood for the Hlas Party in city elections. This is a Social Democratic party, considered to be a centre-left party. Moravcik was finally elected as a city councillor.

Timothy Weah of Celtic celebrates scoring his team’s fourth goal during the Scottish Premiership match between Celtic and St Mirren at Celtic Park on January 23, 2019. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)

Timo Weah’s dad was President of Liberia

The most obvious modern Celt with a major political connection is Timo Weah, who spent the first part of 2019 in Glasgow’s east end, winning the League and Scottish Cup.

His father, George Weah, was a legendary forward. He had a career featuring time at AC Milan, PSG and Chelsea, as well as being a Ballon d’Or winner. Weah Senior was involved in various Liberian elections. He was eventually elected as President of Liberia from 2018-24.

Dedryck Boyata in action for Celtic on 31 August 2018. Photo AJ (The Celtic Star)

Another modern Celt with a political father is Dedryck Boyata. In 2024, Bienvenu Boyata – himself a former footballer – stood for election to the Belgian parliament. This was for the Open VLD party, a Flemish political group. Despite his profile as a former player, he failed to win a seat.

Celtic Chairman John Reid holds a wreath attend the service to commemorate the 40th Anniversary Memorial of the Ibrox Disaster held at the Ibrox stadium on January 3, 2011. The Ibrox disaster occurred on January 2, 1971 at the end of an Old Firm game when 66 people lost their lives in a crush as crowds left the stands. (PHoto by Danny Lawson – pool/Getty Images)

John Reid and Brian Wilson

In recent years, different Board members at Celtic Park have been politicians. The most obvious is former Chairman John Reid. He was a Labour MP – and minister in different governments – and then became a member of the House of Lords.

Celtic Chief Executive Peter Lawwell leaves the directors box with Club Director Brian Wilson. Rangers v Celtic, Scottish Cup, Fourth Round, Football, Ibrox 18 Apr 2021. Photo by Stuart Wallace BPI/Shutterstock

Another ex-Labour MP – Brian Wilson – is a member of the Board. As well as being a Board member he has a long-term association with Celtic, including writing an official history of Celtic in the 1987-88 centenary season.

Michael Davitt lays the first sod of shamrock smothered turf at Celtic Park. Image The Celtic Wiki

Irish politician Michael Davitt

Political connections are not new thing for Celtic. The most obvious of these goes back to Celtic’s earliest years. In 1889, the Irish politician Michael Davitt was appointed as a patron of the club. Davitt was renowned for his land campaigns, and he later became an MP.

William McKillop, one of the Celtic FC Founding Fathers. Photo The Celtic Star

Another early Committee member was William McKillop. He was an important figure in the club’s early development and he later became an Irish MP, representing the firstly Armagh and then the Sligo area.

‘God save Ireland’

In fact, MPs were common sights at Celtic Park in the club’s early years. Multiple Irish figures who helped shaped Irish and British politics were guests at Celtic Park, reflecting the club’s political connections. One notable example was the MP Timothy Daniel Sullivan who wrote the song ‘God save Ireland’ and once sang this on the Celtic Park pitch.

In more recent times, many elected politicians have been Celtic fans. In the past few years, the most notable of these has been high profile MSPs like former First Minister Humza Yousaf, who is a member of the SNP. Others include people like former Scottish Socialist, Tommy Sheridan.

20.07.2013. Politician Tommy Sheridan soaks up the atmosphere during the pre-season friendly match between Brentford FC and Scottish Premier League Champions Celtic from Griffin Park. Photo Vagelis Georgariou

In an international sense, Celtic’s main fan was someone who experienced living under Communism during the Cold War. Former Celtic player Rudi Vata became friends with Ilir Meta, who served as Albanian President from 2017 to 2022 and described The Celtic Star as one of his favourite media outlets! On numerous occasions, Meta has publicly stated his support for the Hoops.

The Albanian President

Ilir Meta, President of Albania wears the Hoops. Photo Ilir Meta

There have also been numerous connections between Celtic and American Presidents. Some of this includes White House support for the Hoops, however it features issues such as President Biden having ‘Celtic’ as his Secret Service call sign, albeit not pronounced the same way as the football club.

However, Celtic FC’s founder Brother Walfrid did always want the club to be called Keltic rather than Celtic, so maybe he exerts a political influence to this day.

It’s obvious that there’s a great deal of links between Celtic and elected politicians, whether in Scotland or around the world. But in the interests of democracy, it seems other views should be sought on this. So, can you think of any more examples?

Matthew Marr

Follow Matthew on Twitter @hailhailhistory

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Matthew Marr with his debut Celtic book, Glory to their name, which tells the story of Celtic’s first ever title win. Photo The Celtic Star

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