Kieran Maguire lambasts ‘exploitative’ Celtic chief amid £3.2bn reveal
Celtic fans deserve credit for highlighting the “exploitative” business practices of Denis O’Brien.
That is the view of finance guru Kieran Maguire, speaking exclusively to Football Insider about protests against the minority Hoops shareholder.
Celtic beat Hibernian 2-0 on Monday (17 January) in their first home match since the restrictions over attendances were scrapped in Scotland.
As relayed by The Times on Wednesday (19 January), one section of the crowd displayed a banner that read O’Brien was “not welcome at Celtic.”
The 62-year-old Actavo chief has allegedly failed to pay more than 60 scaffolding workers at a site in Scunthorpe the agreed industry rate.
The scaffolders are now on strike.
According to the Irish Independent’s Rich List, O’Brien is the fifth-wealthiest person in the country with an estimated worth of £3.2billion.
Maguire hailed the Celtic Park faithful for their solidarity with O’Brien’s disenfranchised workers.
“Celtic fans have done the right thing to highlight injustice,” he told Football Insider‘s Adam Williams.
“I think all football fans hope that the club itself and the people in charge have a set of values that they can align themselves to.
“When they see exploitation or exploitative behaviour, they’ll give it attention. That is the case when it’s their club or when it’s their biggest rivals’ club.
“One of the greatest things I’ve seen as a fan was the fans of Super League teams protesting even when their teams stood to benefit the most.
“They did that because the owners’ views didn’t align with their own.”
Celtic supporters successfully lobbied against the appointment of Bernard Higgins as club security chief last month.
Dissenting fans argued that the Police Scotland Assistant Chief Constable was responsible for archaic policing methods at football matches.
In other news, winner named in Celtic and Al-Faisaly race to sign Hibs winger Martin Boyle after deal agreed.