Craig Gordon’s relationship with Celtic supporters has always carried an undercurrent of tension, despite his remarkable contributions to the club’s golden era.
The veteran goalkeeper played a pivotal role in the historic Invincible Treble-winning season, cementing his place among the most successful keepers ever to represent the Hoops.
That iconic image of Gordon falling to his knees after Tom Rogic’s title-clinching winner at Hampden remains one of Scottish football’s most enduring moments.
Yet many Celtic diehards were furious last week after Gordon branded his former club’s last-gasp Premiership triumph an “injustice” in an Instagram post.
He wrote: “… that day was one of the most emotional moments of my career. The anger, the disappointment, the injustice.”
Gordon then doubled down at a World Cup press conference, admitting the pain of not lifting the Premiership trophy last month will never leave him.
The bad blood between Gordon and sections of the Celtic support stretches back to May 2005, when he went up for a late corner as Hearts chased an equaliser against title-chasing Celtic despite having little to play for themselves.
Celtic handed Gordon a genuine career lifeline after two years out of the game with a serious knee injury, with coach Stevie Woods convincing club chiefs to take a chance on him.
His debut season delivered a Double, SFWA Player of the Year honours, and a return to international contention, repaying that faith spectacularly.
Chelsea even tabled a £4 million bid in January 2017, which would have seen him serve as backup to then Blues number one Thibaut Courtois, but manager Brendan Rodgers refused to let him leave.
Gordon departed Celtic in 2020 with 12 major honours after rejecting a contract extension on reduced terms, with the best wishes of the club behind him.
Further flashpoints followed after his return to Hearts, most notably when Gordon reacted furiously to Odsonne Edouard’s Panenka penalty in the 2020 Scottish Cup Final, grabbing the ball and launching it toward his former teammate.
The tensions were palpable on subsequent visits to Celtic Park, with sections of the home support making their complicated feelings toward the goalkeeper abundantly clear.
Now 43 and possibly in the final weeks of his playing career, Gordon appears to have distanced himself from his former club, no longer following Celtic or their charity arm on Instagram.
His latest comments arrive amid a broader storm from Tynecastle, with Hearts boss Derek McInnes branding Celtic’s 99th-minute penalty at Fir Park “disgusting,” a VAR decision publicly backed by refs’ chief Willie Collum, who cited a “clear” handball by Sam Nicholson.
Tynecastle shareholder Tony Bloom claimed on national radio that Hearts players were “assaulted” by Celtic fans during the title celebrations, though Police Scotland confirmed they received no complaints from Hearts regarding the alleged incidents.
Cammy Devlin also insisted this week that none of the Hearts players were hurt during the chaotic scenes that followed Celtic’s dramatic triumph.
Former chairman George Foulkes went as far as urging Celtic to concede their crown to the runners-up, a remarkable intervention that further inflamed the post-season debate.
Gordon’s bombshell statement will not erase what he achieved in green and white, but for many Celtic supporters, it reinforces how deeply divided opinion on his legacy truly remains.
About the Author
