Celtic hero Chris Sutton shut down Kris Boyd after he questioned why Celtic fans think "they deserve a voice" amid mounting fan uproar.
A 2-0 win over Motherwell following the international break came as a welcome distraction for boss Martin O'Neill and his players with tensions escalating off the park between supporters and the board.
Protest against Dermot Desmond
Dermot Desmond was targeted by tennis balls from fans in balaclavas while competing at the golf event last weekend at St Andrews.
The Celtic Fans Collective published a statement and images of the incident in the hours that followed the protest, with the club then releasing a scathing statement calling out the group and ultras group the Green Brigade.
And Sutton has questioned why 74-year-old O'Neill would put up with the fallout - having previously conceded he was weighing up his future, ahead of the international break.
Sutton's verdict on O'Neill's position
Sutton told Sky Sports: "I think he [O'Neill] was wrong to come out and say that he had doubts. I think that was a big mistake from Martin, but that's how he felt at that time.
"I've never heard him talk like that before in his whole managerial career, but I just think if I was Martin I'd just want an easy life. What has he got going for him at Celtic at this moment in time?
"He didn't get the players he wanted, in terms of trying to compete at the highest level in Europe, so he was let down there.
"Then, he was undermined by one of his players. Cameron Carter-Vickers, a lot of admiration for him as a player, but he shouldn't be coming out publicly and undermining the tactics.
"If he did that in the sanctuary of his own dressing room, I do not have a problem with that, but it just shows where the club is at the moment - it's like the wild west. There are shots fired in every direction.
"You have then got the situation with the Green Brigade saying they are not going to rock up at European games - that will affect the atmosphere.
"And the split between the top end of the club [and the fans], I didn't think it could get any wider than it was last year, but it is more fractious than ever. That is the biggest problem.
"You have got supporters chucking tennis balls at Dermot Desmond having a round of golf; I do think there is a case of leave the guy alone in that situation.
"It's private, it's his time, but supporters will turn around and say 'hang on a minute, they don't listen to us any way, they don't communicate' - most of the support see the higher end at Celtic as a dictatorship.
"Can you argue with that? I don't know. But why should Martin put himself through all this? That's kind of the way I think..."
Boyd's challenge and Sutton's response
Boyd then cut in: "Chris, most clubs are the same. Why do Celtic fans think they are different? Most clubs are the same."
A baffled Sutton quizzed: "What do you mean by Celtic fans think they are different?"
Boyd went on: "Why do they think that they deserve a voice. It's not a hard question."
Sutton responded: "I don't actually know the context with which you are comparing it...if you are comparing it to Rangers, for example, and last season wasn't great but there was communication from the high end of the club to the fan base. That doesn't happen at Celtic.
"Why should Martin O'Neill sit through in a press conference on his own and bat away questions about fans throwing tennis balls at Dermot Desmond?
"Why should he sit through that? Why is Michael Nicholson not sat there next to him and showing him support and backing him or somebody on the board?
"He's just being hung out at the moment. He was the glue which held everything together last season. He absolutely was. Why does he want to put himself through that?"
