Irish international Aiden McGeady has revealed that the abuse he received in Glasgow was a major factor in his decision to leave Celtic for Spartak Moscow.
McGeady joined the Russian club last week in a deal worth £9.5 million after nine years at Celtic Park and in an interview with Scottish newspaper the Daily Record, the 24-year old told of the trouble he encountered from football supporters during his time in the city.
“Moscow is a huge city and it will be possible to have a degree of privacy,” McGeady said.
“Glasgow really is a goldfish bowl and it’s one of the things I’m glad to be getting away from.
“Neil Lennon (Celtic manager) said to me I might miss the adulation Celtic players get but I’m not so sure.
“My view is I need a break from it. I’ve had my experiences of Glasgow and I do need a change.
“There is always someone wanting to have a go at you. I got into a few fights in the past and wish I hadn’t.
“I let my guard down a few times and it cost me.
“But some of the verbal abuse I had to take was really out of order. Because I’m a footballer, people think they are entitled to say what they like and get away with it.
“I’m talking about grown men here. They would shout, “I hate you” or “I’m gonna kill you, wee man”.
“There was also a lot worse but I’m not going to go into that.”
McGeady also revealed that the fact he was born in Scotland yet chose to represent the Republic of Ireland at international level made him the focus of abuse from away supporters.
“There are a lot of horrible places in Scotland for that type of thing: Tynecastle, Ibrox obviously is always going to be bad with the Celtic-Rangers rivalry, Motherwell, Falkirk.
“Some fans there hate everything Celtic stand for and everything I stand for as an Irish Catholic playing for Celtic.
“It begins in the warm-ups before games with all sorts of stuff being shouted at you, even from little kids.”
