Sir Rod Stewart has come under fire from Celtic supporters after congratulating Boris Johnson for securing a landslide victory in last week’s general election.
In a tweet thanking fans after his 10th album topped the UK charts, the 74-year-old singer also praised the re-elected prime minister just hours after the Conservatives’ majority was confirmed.
“Thank you once again to my legions of fans who I will never take for granted,” he said. “Bless you all and a Merry Christmas. Well done Robbie, well done Boris, no hard feelings Pete Townshend! Rod xxx”
In response, Celtic’s Green Brigade fan group unveiled two large banners directed at the singer and the Conservatives during the club’s 2-0 win over Hibernian on Sunday.
One told Sir Rod to “f**k off” while the other read: “Tories not welcome.”
Supporters are also reported to have chanted “if you hate the f*****g Tories clap your hands”.
BBC pundit and former Hibernian striker Tam McManus later hit back at the actions of the Green Brigade, tweeting: “Why not just go and support your team and watch a game of football?
“Cringeworthy attention seeking tripe.”
Piers Morgan defended Sir Rod, whose father was Scottish, after he received extensive online abuse for his congratulatory tweet.
“Congrats to @rodstewart – and how pathetic that he can’t himself graciously congratulate Boris without being vilified,” Mr Morgan wrote. “We’ve become a nation of shockingly bad & abusive losers.”
The veteran singer is well known for his love of Celtic and Scotland, having previously described the country as his “spiritual home”, and was earlier this year filmed chanting with fans ahead of the club’s Europa League clash against Lazio in Rome.
Last week he became the oldest male solo artist to have a number one album in the UK after ‘You’re In My Heart’, released on 22 November, rose to the top spot.
Sir Rod, who is 74 years and 11 months old, took the accolade from American singer Paul Simon.
