IRISH Prime Minister Bertie Ahern suffered an embarrassing snub when he was refused permission to meet the Celtic players after seeing them win the premier division title on Saturday.
Mr Ahern, the first Taoiseach ever to watch Celtic play at their Glasgow ground, was a guest of former club director Brian Dempsey.
He wanted to meet the players either on the pitch or in the dressing room. However, a spokesman for Mr Ahern said that the club's chief security man told them that managing director Fergus McCann and general manager Jock Brown refused the request because Mr Ahern was not a guest of the club.
''It was an embarrassing situation,'' the spokesman said.
It is understood a row broke out in the club boardroom after the game over the incident.
A spokesman for Celtic confirmed the request had been refused, but declined to comment. A Celtic source said it was policy to allow only club players and officials into the dressing rooms after matches.
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