Dermot Desmond was escorted off the course by security The Celtic Fans Collective has criticised Dermot Desmond's "priorities" after the Scottish champions withdrew recognition of the group following a protest against the major shareholder at the Alfred Dunhill Links golf tournament in St Andrews.
Tennis balls with pictures of the 76-year-old's face scored out were thrown on to the 15th green at the pro-am competition on Saturday, with images showing Desmond later having to be escorted off the course by security.
Celtic said in a statement they will "indefinitely ban" anyone "established to be involved in planning, facilitating or participating" in the protest.
Now the fans group has responded by describing Desmond as "notoriously thin-skinned" and claiming his comments about it were "a disgraceful mischaracterisation of our organisation".
"This tells Celtic supporters everything they need to know about Dermot Desmond and his priorities," it stated. "He appears furious that ordinary working-class fans have dared to air their grievances in the safe, elitist world of golf, embarrassing him in front of the network of people whose opinions he appears to value far more than those of Celtic supporters." Celtic had condemned "in the strongest terms" the incident, which they said was "discussed and planned in advance".
"This was a premeditated action," their statement said. "Accordingly, the club will no longer recognise the Celtic Fans Collective as a representative body speaking on behalf of Celtic supporters and will cease all engagement with the collective." Earlier in the day, the group released a statement, along with footage and images of the incident.