2018 has bore witness to a lot of apologies from sports people so far, some necessary, some not so much.
Petr Cech began the year by apologising in a cringe-worthy tweet for his error in Arsenal's 2-1 loss to Swansea in January, and then apologised again in March for their defeat to Brighton. Eddie Jones had to apologise for his "scummy Irish" comment just days before his England side were beaten by Ireland in Twickenham. And no amount of apologies could have saved the players involved in Australian cricket's ball-tampering scandal. While Gianluigi Buffon might as well have not even bothered with his apology for berating referee Michael Oliver in the Champions League quarter-final, it was that half-arsed.
One more can be added to the list today as Michael O'Halloran has expressed regret for sitting among Celtic supporters to watch the Hoops defeat Motherwell 2-0 in the Scottish Cup final at Hampden Park and complete a double treble.
Apparently Michael O'Halloran was enjoying himself at Hampden yesterday
Sevconians are beeling.
Your players will be Celtic fans.
It's already happened! pic.twitter.com/8CgYTcO6J3— THE Internet Bampot (@inetbampot45) May 20, 2018
O'Halloran was previously on the books at Celtic's academy but didn't make the grade before being moved on. He later joined Rangers though has failed to make an impact, spending most of his time on loan.
Gers fans reacted angrily on social media with many calling for the 27-year-old to have his contract cancelled by the Ibrox club.
Although Rangers have not reacted to the incident, O'Halloran has expressed his thoughts via his agent Kenny Moyes.
Michael didn’t realise he would be surrounded by Celtic fans but hindsight is a great thing and he now regrets the decision as he accepts it doesn’t look too good.
I know he is taking some stick from the Rangers fans but he absolutely wasn’t at Hampden as a Celtic supporter. He’s a Rangers player.
He is concerned at how it looks to the Rangers supporters but he thought he would be in a neutral section and didn’t realise until it was too late.
Motherwell were keen on signing Michael in January and he requested a ticket for the Cup Final through the SFA to watch the game as a neutral.
I don’t believe you shouldn’t be allowed to go and watch a game. If he knew where he was going to be sitting then he wouldn’t have gone.
The idea that the former Celtic prospect attended the showpiece match as a neutral won't hold much water with Rangers supporters.
The picture of Michael o’halloran at hampden sitting amongst the Celtic fans is ridiculous. I have no problem with him growing up a Celtic fan, however, one of our players sitting in amongst their fans and most likely celebrating is too much. Get this man out of ibrox now!
— Hedgie 🇬🇧 (@stu__1873) May 20, 2018
O'Halloran has two years left on his contract, but will probably leave for Motherwell after only playing one minute for Rangers this season.
This incident follows on from abuse the footballer recently received for attending a Catholic church.
Of course, maybe there's a much simpler explanation for O'Halloran being in the Celtic end.
Michael O'Halloran: "That's true, but I was only in the Celtic end to get directions on how to get away from there!" pic.twitter.com/oooYSiDc16
— Simpsons SPFL 🏴 (@SimpsonsSPFL) May 20, 2018
