Celtic owner Dermot Desmond had to be escorted off Dunhill Links at St Andrews golf course on Saturday as Celtic fans launched tennis balls at him.The 76-year-old Irish billionaire was the target of the protest while he was playing a round with five-time major winner Brooks Koepka.Desmond is an unpopular figure at Celtic at the momentGettyThe incident happened on the 15th hole and the tennis balls had pictures of the owner’s face on them.Desmond completed his round of golf with the LIV Golf star before he was escorted away by security.The Irishman was competing in the Pro-Am ahead of the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship, where his son Ross will be a contender.And despite the disruption, the duo did finish their rounds.Since the incident, the Celtic Fans Collective have claimed responsibility and issued a statement.They said: “Dermot Desmond has essentially been allowed to run Celtic Football Club whilst using his wealth to hide from supporters and accountability.“Fans took the chance today to send a message that this arrangement cannot continue.”Desmond has been involved with Celtic since 1995 and is the largest shareholder at the club, owning between 34.6 and 34.9 per cent of the Scottish giants.View Tweet: https://x.com/hashtag/WATCH?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5EtfwWhy is Dermot Desmond being targeted?Opposition towards Desmond is a steady build-up of frustration at the Celtic ownership from fans, rather than frustration over a poor start to the season from the SPFL champions.The supporters want the board to match their ambitions, recruit wisely and communicate with them.In the latest set of financial accounts, Celtic posted a loss of £4.8million, which was a startling drop from £22m profit the year before. This led to a statement from the Celtic Fans Collective in September.They said: “Anger at recent shambolic results on the park in big games was compounded yesterday by Celtic plc latest financial results.“The statements from the ‘interim’ chairman (Brian Wilson) and CEO (Michael Nicholson) typically lacked humility and did little to improve the mood. Supporters are not fooled.“The stark reality is that Celtic FC is underachieving across the club and the trajectory is alarming.“We have highlighted the signs of this decline since our formation. We will continue to hold the club to account and fight for the standards that the Celtic support deserves.Celtic Park isn’t a happy place at the moment with fan anger growingGettyMartin O’Neill is also under increasing pressure as wellGetty“Celtic Fans Collective representatives met with Celtic FC yesterday to discuss the club’s fan engagement strategy. We also the took opportunity to express the deep frustration at the continued mismanagement of the club. A full update will be shared with members shortly.”The unrest can be traced further back to the summer of 2025 when Brendan Rodgers asked for more signings and didn’t get them, while Adam Idah was sold to Swansea City without a replacement.The end result was an open letter to the board and a vote of no confidence in them once they responded.Rodgers resigned shortly after with Frenchman Wilfried Nancy arriving for a brief but shambolic spell.This further eroded fans’ confidence in the board, and despite Martin O’Neill‘s arrival and dramatic title win last season, the concerns remain.Celtic fans will now hope that there is a response from the board.