I have said it before and I will say it again today. If Celtic bring Robbie Keane in as our new manager it will be an unmitigated disaster…
It genuinely baffles me that Keane is the front runner for the job. There are a multitude of reasons why he shouldn’t be anywhere near the club, and very little that indicate he is the best candidate for such a huge job at this stage of his management career.
Where do I even start on the reasons why I don’t want him as our new manager?
To me one of the biggest reasons is his previous job at Maccabi Tel Aviv. I know this is something not all Celtic fans will care about but as an Irishman he will have known full well the atrocities Israel were perpetrating upon the Palestinian people and how going to work in the country would be perceived by those back in Ireland.
Even if he claims he knew nothing about the situation in Palestine when he signed in June 2023, he certainly will have understood everything that happened after 7th October 2023. As the full blown genocide against the Palestinian people ramped up over the preceding months, Keane remained in Tel Aviv until the end of the season.
Celtic Fans For The Liberation Of Palestine (CFLP) has released a statement opposing the potential appointment of Robbie Keane as Celtic FC’s new manager:
“As Celtic fans, we oppose the proposed appointment of Robbie Keane as manager of Celtic Football Club.
Celtic supporters… pic.twitter.com/ZNjYLs6pZ9
— Antifa_Ultras (@ultras_antifaa) June 2, 2026
He has since claimed he did it for the good of his staff, who he didn’t want to see lose their jobs. He knew he wouldn’t have been short of offers on leaving Israel, surely the solution would have been to bring those staff with you to your next job?
On top of the decision to manage in Israel during a genocide we also have the earlier controversy surrounding his coaching position at the FAI.
Keane was brought in as a coach under Mick McCarthy by his friend and FAI chief executive John Delaney, and handed a lucrative four year contract. Unusually, Keane’s personal contract was structured to outlast McCarthy’s tenure. While McCarthy was locked into a two-year stint designed to end after Euro 2020, Keane’s contract guaranteed employment until 2022.
When Stephen Kenny took over in 2020 he brought in his own staff and Keane was no longer needed.
Instead of coming to an agreement with the FAI he decided to sit it out and take his full wage for another two years. He was clearing €250,000 a year while doing nothing.
The arrangement drew heavy criticism from both fans and politicians because the cash-strapped FAI was simultaneously undergoing major state-backed financial bailouts and staff redundancies. Not so worried about those staff losing their jobs then, eh Robbie?
Personally I think a Celtic manager must be of good character, someone with a moral compass and trustworthy.
Keane has, from my point of view, displayed none of these traits over the past few years. Even during his playing career he was known to profess his love for a club before quickly telling the same story wherever he ended up next.
People vilified Neil Lennon for not stepping down when he clearly should have, do you think Keane would do the honourable thing? Not a chance. He would wait to get sacked so he could receive a nice pay off.
In the unlikely chance he was successful? He would jump ship to a better paid job at the first opportunity.
Even if you are to overlook these negatives and proclaim you would be happy bringing in the best manager available, is Robbie Keane that man? I certainly don’t think so.
His career in management so far wouldn’t be the type of CV that would scream out future Celtic manager. If it wasn’t for him previously playing for Celtic, or the fact that he’s Irish, a former Maccabi Tel Aviv and Fenecvaros manager wouldn’t exactly be someone we would be getting excited about.
The fact the Hungarian’s lost the league this season under Keane after winning the previous seven tells me all I need to know.
This is clearly Dermot Desmond on a solo run yet again.
Everyone knows appointing Keane will be controversial. It will split the fan base once more. Our board talk about creating unity. Desmond knows this will create division.
At a time when we need stability, Desmond is once again sticking two fingers up to the Celtic supporters. To me the only explanation is that he loves to show the Celtic fans who’s boss, that he’ll make the decisions he wants and to hell with the rest of us.
Why else choose someone that’s going to rub the fans up the wrong way?
If it was a Pep Guadiola or a Jurgan Klopp i would understand.
But Robbie Keane? He’s not worth the drama.
Conall McGinty
👉 Robbie Keane is reportedly leading the race to take charge at Celtic, with principal shareholder Dermot Desmond said to favour the former Hoops striker for the managerial position, as per @ExaminerSport.
The ex-Republic of Ireland captain was engaged in talks regarding the… pic.twitter.com/mtdUiGrYzJ
— Conor ✍️📺⚽️ (@conorbyline) June 2, 2026
Robbie Keane is reportedly prepared to sign a three-year contract if he is offered the Celtic manager’s job. Talks are said to be ongoing regarding the structure of the role and the club’s long-term plans, with Keane understood to be open to taking charge at Parkhead should an… pic.twitter.com/gX5S7jLH9H
— Celtic FC News Room (@cfcnewsroom) June 2, 2026
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8 Comments
Typical drivel from Green Brigade aficionados! Before you try to accuse me of condoning Israeli atrocities in Gaza I am also a long standing financial contributor to Palestinian causes.
You know nothing, repeat nothing about Robbie Keane’s reasons for going to Israel in the first place or why he decided to leave within a relatively short period of time
I have been a celtic “Football” fan for almost 70 yrs and as a fan you do not speak for me and you do not own or run our club. Keane made a footballing choice not a political one. If people don’t want to support him then thats there choice. Everyone has one.
I get really angry when I read this Palestine garbage, which has absolutely nothing to do with sport but everything to do with Marxist agitators. What do geopolitical events in the Middle East have to do with a football club in the East End of Glasgow? Absolutely nothing, is the answer to that.
Robbie Keane may well be unsuited to the Celtic job in terms of experience but his time in Israel was perfectly legitimate. The man has every right to look after his career and the careers of his staff, so to vilify him for a particular career choice is outrageous and totally unjust. The man is a football manager, not a politician or a missionary. Besides that, where is the outrage over the Islamic genocide in Iran? 30 – 40,000 men, women and children gunned down on the streets of Iran by the IRGC and not a word from you people with the superior moral compass. If you want to do something positive for the people of Palestine then sell your house and belongings and move to Palestine to distribute your money to the needy. Otherwise, cut out the feigned outrage and concentrate on the football.
Robbie Keane is not Celtic Manager material. He was careful not to tarnish his reputation with his paymasters by referencing the club during his tenure in Israel. Mr. Blackshaw I wonder if it would have been deemed okay to stay and take the money in 1930’s Germany because you had a job in sport. Yes people who opposed the holocaust, fought Germany and Russia became our allies. Britain did not protest about Russia’s poor treatment of it’s own people – we see what happens when the USA get involved in Iran. However the difference being that Palestinian people are not Israeli’s. In my opinion, a man working in Israel throughout this genocide might fit with Dermot Desmond, but not with Celtic Football Club.
Well said mate his suitability or not for the Celtic job should have nothing to do with Palestine.
This 100%
If you and green brigade don’t like it then just don’t attend and let real supporter of Celtic football club take those tickets
Mr McGinty on the point of Robbie Keane and his FAI position, he was doing his International Pro License with the FAI and was expected to take over the U21 coaching position from Kenny when he was going to be promoted after the qualifying campaigns (mens and U21’s) but as Kenny blocked McCarthy from picking from the U21 squad that cost McCarthy his job which meant Kenny took over the men’s team and his first action was to draw players from the U21’s (which he blocked McCarthy from doing) and cost Ireland (mens and U21’s) qualification to the finals and as Keane hadn’t completed his International Pro License at that time he could not take over the U21’s head coach role (the 4 year contract was to do his Licenses learn from McCarthy). Kenny was given a lot of power and control which lead to a toxic atmosphere throughout the FAI camps (that’s why Damian Duff didn’t hang around long after joining from Lennon’s Celtic backroom staff).
On the Maccabi Tel Aviv position, as you stated Keane took the position before the conflict started and stayed and saw the season through (winning them the league) and then left, but as I understand it you think he should have left in protest because of the conflict, well if he did you would just be arguing that he couldn’t be trusted with the Celtic job as he doesn’t see through campaigns through (just like Rodgers has done twice to us in the past), so it would have been a hiding to nothing wouldn’t it.
Plus on the other side of it there was a great amount of anti-irish sentiment in Israel at the time and he took abuse from both sides and didn’t just go through the motions but won Maccabi Tel Aviv the title and showed a great number of Israeli’s another side to the Irish population than the one spewed out by hard right factions and has done more for Irish deplomacy then anyone. And remember Abada ? He was forced to leave Celtic not by our fans (who he still says are the best and still visits Glasgow) but by the Israeli FA he told him if he stayed he would never play for Israel.
And then he went to Hungry had a wonderful European campaign and just missed out on the title again.
He has proved himself and deserves a chance (and when you think Bellamy was another candidate, without club management background). Many want Martin O’Neil to stay but I think a behind the scenes role would be more suited as it would protect his deserved respect as one of our greatest managers.
Yawn…same rubbish on all these Celtic sites..i bet all these “Keane worked in israel ” boys would gladly welcome an english man as manager no problem….But an Irishman man that did his job no thanks…..whatever the reasons for or against Keane as manager the israel thing is only people talking out their arse…some nonsense catch yourselves on