5 players who are loved by their own fans but hated by rivals

#2 Scott Brown

Scott Brown is a true footballing pantomime villain

The current captain of Scottish giants Celtic, Scott Brown isn’t just disliked by fans of the club’s bitter rivals Rangers, but he’s essentially despised by the fans of every other team that The Bhoys face off with. The veteran midfielder is beloved by Celtic fans for his all-action style as a box-to-box midfielder, but he’s also a master of football’s darker arts and he isn’t afraid to use them to get into the head of opposing players.

Renowned for his somewhat reckless tendencies on the pitch, Brown regularly finds himself being shown the yellow card and has also been sent off on numerous occasions during his career, but it’s his tendency to attempt to wind up opposition players that has earned him the most hatred from the fans.

Perhaps his most infamous moment came in a match against Rangers in 2011; after scoring a goal, Brown stood directly in front of striker El-Hadji Diouf with his arms outstretched, attempting to goad the Senegal international into a reaction. He’s also found himself in hot water for antagonising and laughing at various opponents, and even ate a punch from Rangers’ Ryan Kent in 2019 after a little too much taunting.

Essentially, Brown is a classic footballing villain, showing an insane amount of passion for his own side while also seemingly willing to go to any possible lengths in order to gain an advantage over his opponents. It’s hardly a surprise that he’s so disliked.