Celtic fans have thrown tennis balls onto the pitch as a form of organised protest against the club’s board and leadership, not as a random stunt or joke.

The core reason

In recent incidents, especially the high‑profile game away to Dundee in October 2025, the tennis balls were used to:

  • Disrupt the start of the match and force a stoppage, drawing TV cameras and media attention.
  • Visually underline anger at the Celtic board and senior figures such as chairman Peter Lawwell and chief executive Michael Nicholson.
  • Reinforce wider fan campaigns like “Not Another Penny,” which urge boycotts of club merchandise, food, drink, tours and events until changes are made.

Fans are frustrated by what they see as:

  • Poor or “archaic” transfer strategy and limited summer spending.
  • Early exit from the Champions League and a lack of ambition at European level.
  • A board they consider out of touch and too comfortable, despite the club’s financial strength.

How the protest played out

At Dundee in 2025:

  1. The match kicked off as normal.
  2. Within moments, away fans began hurling tennis balls, small plastic or ping‑pong balls, and even oranges onto the pitch.
  3. The referee stopped the game for around three minutes while players and staff cleared the surface.
  1. Chants of “sack the board” and banners calling for resignations made the target of the protest very clear.

A similar tennis‑ball protest had happened earlier in 2021, when some Celtic supporters used the same tactic in a match against Dundee to oppose the potential appointment of former Police Scotland commander Bernard Higgins to a senior security role at the club.

So the pattern is: tennis balls = visual, disruptive protest aimed at the club hierarchy over big off‑pitch decisions.

What different sides are saying

There are a few main viewpoints around this trend:

  • Some fans argue the protests are necessary “wake‑up calls” for a complacent board, and that you have to interrupt games to get genuine leverage and media coverage.
  • Others – including ex‑players and pundits like Chris Sutton, and some supporters – say it’s “idiotic,” hurts the team on the park, and risks fines or sanctions from football authorities.
  • Managers like Brendan Rodgers have generally said they understand fan frustration but would prefer unity during the 90 minutes and protests to happen in other ways.

Recent context and UEFA angle

The idea has continued into European competition: tennis balls were again thrown during a Europa League knockout playoff match, prompting discussion of possible UEFA fines for Celtic over crowd behaviour.

That means the question “why did Celtic fans throw tennis balls?” now has a clear, repeated theme: it’s a protest tool, used to spotlight grievances with the board, transfer policy, and specific appointments, by literally stopping the game so nobody can ignore the message.

TL;DR: Celtic fans threw tennis balls to protest against the club’s hierarchy – highlighting anger over transfer policy, Champions League failure, and controversial board decisions – by deliberately delaying matches and forcing everyone to focus on their message.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.