Former Celtic star Eyal Berkovic has launched a stunning tirade targeting Parkhead fans and Ireland as he accused the supporters of “crazy hatred.”
Celtic splashed out a huge sum of £5.75 million for the Israeli international back in 1999 under John Barnes – but the deal turned into a nightmare for the retired midfielder turned pundit during a disastrous campaign. Barnes was sacked following an infamous Scottish Cup loss to Caley Thistle and he was frozen out by Martin O’Neill before eventually signing for Manchester City. He’s now a TV presenter in his homeland – and was far from impressed by the banner displayed by ultras group the Green Brigade during the Champions League clash with Bayern Munich that read: “Show Israel the red card.”
That sparked an astonishing tirade from the 52-year-old. He said: “I took down all the pictures from me at Celtic on my social media. Celtic fans identify with the Irish. Celtic has a connection with the Irish who are against the Jews, in short, they have crazy hatred towards us.
“I kept saying about Robbie Keane when he was a manager here that he should leave because if he speaks for Israel he will endanger his family in Ireland and people didn’t understand why. The Irish and the Scots hate us. As a player I didn’t feel it, only at the end of my career. When they hate someone, they are bad.”
And Berkovic made clear he remains bitter about his time at Celtic. He recalled: “John Barnes was fired and he signed me.
“The fans wanted me to go with him even though I scored goals and I’m doing well, they didn’t care and they wanted me to go. I had a five-year contract. One game later, they booed me every time I touched the ball, 60,000 fans. I kept coming to get the ball and touched the ball a lot of times.
“In a 2-2 game in injury time, I chipped over the goalkeeper and scored a winning goal. The entire Celtic crowd booed me and I gave them the thumbs up. That was my last game and I haven’t seen the place since.”
However, Berkovic’s memory appears to be hazy. The game was a 4-2 win against Kilmarnock in April 2000, five games after Barnes was sacked and his goal was in the 73rd minute.
And he explained after the game: “I believe my celebrations were misinterpreted but I can assure our fans that my actions were a way of expressing my excitement.”