Photo Jim Pietryga
The week got off to a great start for Rod on Saturday as he attended the title deciding match at Celtic Park, Here is a review by Martin Heidt
Jubilation, excitement, emotion and joy – Rod celebrates Celtic’s league title
What a season finale. Celtic Football Club have actually managed it, crowning themselves Scottish football champions for the 56th time and becoming the sole record title holders ahead of their arch-rivals Rangers. In a fast-paced and fiercely contested match that went beyond 90 minutes, the reigning and new champions beat Hearts of Midlothian 3-1 (1-1), thereby climbing to the top of the table on the final matchday. Hearts thus missed out on their first championship in 66 years literally at the last second.
When Callum Osmand slotted the ball into the empty net in the seventh minute of stoppage time to seal the victory, the stands erupted. The fans poured onto the pitch, hugging their heroes in green and white wherever they could catch them on the now overcrowded turf. The match hadn’t even been blown off yet, but there was no question of play resuming for those final seconds. Referee Donald Robertson then did the only right thing and blew the final whistle.
On the pitch, the players danced with the fans; title-winning manager Martin O’Neill threw his arms around his coaching staff, and what was our Rod actually doing?
Well, he’d already shot up from his seat like a rubber ball after the decisive 2-1 goal by the Japanese player Daizen Maeda (87th minute), literally leapt into his son Alistair’s arms and then gave a seemingly endless round of applause for his Hoops. Before that, however, his hopes of winning the title had been put to the test.
For Hearts were the strong opponents everyone had expected – it was no coincidence that the men from Edinburgh had been at the top of the table for many weeks. A draw would have been enough for the visitors to secure the title, and just before half-time they came very close to it when Lawrence Shankland capitalised on a mistake by Celtic keeper Viljami Sinisalo and scored from a corner to put them ahead. The fans – with the exception of the Hearts supporters – had their beer catch in their throats, and Rod too slumped right down in his seat. Shock-induced silence at Celtic Park – but not for long. For in stoppage time of the first half, the referee rightly awarded the Hoops a penalty following a handball by Hearts defender Kyziridis, which Belgian Arne Engels converted to make it a much-celebrated 1-1 at half-time (45+4). That’s what you’d call a psychologically opportune moment in a match.
Buoyed by this, the defending champions started the second half in fine form. The home side now had a clear advantage and pushed the visitors from the Scottish capital further and further back. Yet the decisive goal simply refused to come. In the end, it became a race against time. The clock ticked relentlessly towards the final whistle, with just a few minutes separating Hearts from victory.
Then, in the 87th minute: Marcelo Saracchi played a through ball into the left side of the box for Osmand, who crossed immediately from near the byline. Maeda got his foot to it on the five-yard line and steered the ball into the right-hand corner. HoM keeper Alexander Schwolow was beaten, and the stands were now in a frenzy.
But the Celtic fans still had time to bite their nails. The fourth official signalled eight minutes of added time, and the visitors threw everything forward once more in the extra time. The home side were simply clearing the ball as far as possible from their own penalty area; the main thing was to get rid of it. In the very last minute, one of these clearance attempts reached Osmand, who slipped past the Hearts defence, which had pushed far forward, and, after a sprint across half the pitch, slotted the ball into the empty net.
This goal sparked the scenes of jubilation described at the outset. On the pitch, in the stands and, of course, in the VIP boxes, where Sir Rod has his seat for life, people embraced one another, repeatedly raised their fists in the air and sang along loudly to the hits played by the stadium sound system.
It turned into a party in green and white, which was crowned long after the final whistle by the presentation of the trophy to Celtic captain Callum McGregor. After numerous lap of honour, the celebrations moved from the stadium into the city and the surrounding pubs. No doubt Sir Rod, too, will have enjoyed a drink or two at the end of this memorable afternoon to celebrate his Hoops’ triumph. Slàinte, Rod! Slàinte, Celtic!
‘I’ll have two pints, mate’ – Rod Stewart in a celebratory mood and showing sympathy for Hearts
When Sir Rod left Celtic Park yesterday following Celtic FC’s last-minute title win and the ensuing celebrations, including the presentation of the trophy to the new record Scottish champions, he was – naturally – in the very best of spirits.
With a broad grin on his face, he emerged from Celtic Park, joining other supporters in chanting “Champions again! Champions again!” time and again. Shortly afterwards, he gave a brief interview to the TV channel Sky News.
“I think the momentum was on our side today,” said a visibly happy Maggie May singer into the microphone. “We were simply brilliant today; I had tears in my eyes at the end. We fought really hard, but it wasn’t easy.” In the moment of great triumph, however, Stewart also had a thought for the defeated Hearts.
“Of course I feel for them; they’ve worked so hard all year. But football is football; if we hadn’t had those weeks with Wilfried Nancy (manager from December 2025 to January 2026), we would have won the title this year by a clear margin. Hearts have simply done brilliantly; they have great fans, a strong team and players.”
For Sir Rod, manager Martin O’Neill was ultimately the key to success, having initially been replaced by Nancy following a transitional period. Prior to that, Brendan Rodgers had stepped down as head coach at “Paradise” in October. Following a less than successful spell under the Frenchman Nancy, who suffered six defeats in eight matches and consequently had to leave, O’Neill took charge once again and ultimately led the Hoops to the title.
‘He’s a god,’ gushed Stewart about the Northern Irish manager, who had previously been in charge of the Hoops from 2000 to 2005, winning the Scottish Premiership three times, the Scottish Cup three times and the League Cup once during that period.
Rod said as much, quickly ordered two pints from one of the fans standing next to him and once again struck up yesterday’s hit of the day: “Champions again!”
Talking to talkSPORT on Monday Rod admited he was let down by the minority who entered the pitch saying: “It’s mixed emotions right now because I’m just really let down by our supporters coming on the pitch and starting fights and all that.
“It just took the gloss off the whole day.
“And my heart goes out to the Jambos, it’s just awful what’s happened to them.
“But we won nine games on the trot and we’re the champions!”
Asked if he’d be up for Martin O’Neill taking the Celtic managers job permanently, he said: “Yeah, of course I would. It’s entirely up to him. If he’s healthy enough to do it – I’m 81 and still doing what I’m doing.
“I’m sure he could do it because the fans and most of all the players adore him.”
Forever Young: A GRAMMY Salute to Rod Stewart
Hope you have all been enjoying Forever Young: A GRAMMY Salute to Rod Stewart Live on CBS and Paramount+ In the US.
The live footage was filmed at Hard Rock Live in Hollywood, Florida for the two-hour special over two nights in February on Rod’s One More Time Tour, SMILER photographer Jim Pietryga was at the shows and we have shown a couple over the last few months but and here are some more of Jim’s stunning photographs.
This Week’s Rod Art
This week we feature the work of Russian-born British painter Lana Arkhi who painted this remarkable acrylic on canvas portrait of Sir Rod
Lana told SMILER this week “I was inspired by Rod Stewart’s strong stage presence and expressive character, which I wanted to capture in the painting”.
To see more of Lana’s work go to https://www.lanaarkhi.com/index.html or https://www.instagram.com/artist_lana_arkhi/
One Last Time
Rod has revealed he will be touring the UK again in 2027 and suggested it’ll be his final run of dates on home soil.
During an interview with Jeff Stelling and Ray Parlour on the TalkSPORT breakfast show on Monday, Rod said he is performing at a private event in Monte Carlo this week, before returning to Las Vegas for a residency. adding “Then I’m touring the UK next year, doing The O2, and that’ll probably be it, I think. I’ll have to do something new, come on your show more often, maybe.”
Damian Lewis
Damian Lewis posted a photo from the Kings Trust 50th Garden Party with Rod and Penny from last week, he has been an ambassador for for 15 years.
What’s On
Ronnie Wood announced a new date in France this week he will be playing L’Olympia, Paris on Saturday 5th September with his band featuring Imelda May
Ronnie and Mick Jagger will also be on Vernon Kay’s Tracks Of My Years slot on BBC Radio 2
The pair will join Vernon in a special edition of Tracks Of My Years, taking us through their lives and careers in ten songs.
Available Sunday 31st May on BBC Sounds and BBC iPlayer
And Finally…
Kerry Katona was impressed with Rod’s Ratbag quip saying “I had a right laugh when I saw Rod Stewart call Donald Trump a “ratbag” to King Charles. I’ve always loved Rod. Not enough to leave my Paolo, but he’s right up there. He’s got some balls to say that in front of the King. Mind you, I’m not shy about being cheeky in front of powerful men – I once offered Nigel Farage and Ed Balls a discount on my OnlyFans!”
See you next week…