Even if he’s never played for Celtic, you might have heard of the name Tom Pietermaat.
The midfielder, currently playing for Koninklijke Beerschot Voetbalclub Antwerpen (or just Beerschot for short) in Belgium’s second division, is a huge fan of the Scottish Premiership side, which was brought to everyone’s attention by the Daily Record back in 2017.
Pietermaat has apparently decorated his house green and white, and has travelled a number of times to Parkhead to watch his favourite team in action over the years.
Coming up on Sunday is a game between Beerschot and OH Leuven, where the midfielder will be facing his long time friend Jan Van den Bergh, which Gazet van Antwerpen used as an opportunity to get the two players to interview each other.
When talking about the outcome of the game, the pair decided to make a little bet, with the loser treating the winner to a dinner at the restaurant of his choice.
For Pietermaat, this represented the perfect opportunity.
He said: “Gladly! Then I hope we win, because then I choose a restaurant in Glasgow, and then we go and watch a Celtic match together. You’ve been saying for three years that you want to come along, but it’s never happened”.
However, his love for the Parkhead club only goes so far, as he was also asked if he would rather become champions with Beerschot or Celtic win the Champions League.
He said: “Champion with Beerschot. I am a huge fan of Celtic, but that title with Beerschot is above everything else”.
