Martin O’Neill fumes at Celtic fan protest after Europa League defeat to Stuttgart

Celtic boss Martin O’Neill has reacted to the defeat to Stuttgart as the Hoops’ Europa League hopes look over for this season.

Stuttgart beat Celtic 4-1 after the Bundesliga’s early strike was cancelled out by a brilliant Benjamin Nygren goal in the 21st minute.

The start of the game was disrupted as Celtic fans threw tennis balls onto the pitch, and it seems that O’Neill was not best pleased with it.

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And here, the Hoops boss shares exactly what he thought of the protest and Celtic’s Europa League performance against the German side.

The Celtic boss told TNT Sports, “Well, it’s a tough evening for us. Obviously, 4-1 is, on paper, looks pretty poor.

“We were masters of our own downfall in many aspects. We conceded some very poor goals, and I always felt that at 1-1 we were well well and truly in the game even at halftime 2-1 down. And, yeah, it was a tough evening.”

Martin O’Neill furiously slams Celtic fan protest vs Stuttgart

O’Neill was then asked about Celtic fans throwing tennis balls onto the pitch at the start of the game and the Hoops boss did not hold back.

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O’Neill fumed, “Anybody who thinks that’s a good idea needs their heads examined? There’s no question about it. Needs their heads examined.

“First of all, it sends out the totally wrong message. We’re playing against Stuttgart, the game is hard enough, and they’re coming here.

“And the problem is, that a way back some years ago, this was an incredibly intimidating place to come to. Incredibly difficult.

“I’ve managed here, where sides like Juventus were scared stiff. And coming here, where top class sides were scared stiff. That sort of thing does not help at all.

“There’s been battles going on, all sorts of things, really, but that doesn’t help. Because what it does do, Stuttgart here, who come to this wonderful football club and then find out that there’s a lot of infighting going on, and things thrown onto the pitch at the end of it all, doesn’t make any great sense to me.

“Because what it does, if I’m a Stuttgart player, I’m thinking, I’m pretty happy in this environment.”

Celtic’s Europa League campaign is over

A 4-1 home defeat against any team would be a difficult one for Celtic to overcome, but against Stuttgart, even Martin O’Neill’s magic won’t be enough to overturn this.

Celtic travel to Stuttgart next week for the return leg and fans will hope that the result will not be as sore as the one they witnessed at Parkhead.

Travelling to Germany is tough with the slimmest of leads, but going there and needing to win by three clear goals to qualify is a mission that even O’Neill will find impossible.

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