BOBO BALDE: CELTIC HERO’S MENTAL HEALTH ANGUISH HIGHLIGHTS THE DARK SIDE OF LIFE AFTER FOOTBALL
- BY LIAM CARRIGAN
- Sep 5
- 3 min read
I was saddened today to read about the events in Marseille this week concerning Bobo Balde. The former Celtic defender, a fan favorite in the early 2000s thanks to his robust, no-nonsense approach to the game, and often to his opponents, was the subject of an emergency mental health sectioning yesterday.
In a bizarre incident, outside a primary school, the 49 year old former Celt was seen making threatening gestures before being hit by a car and then punched in the face.
Police arrived and interviewed Balde as the victim of an assault, but later decided he needed to be put into emergency psychiatric care after allegedly telling them he “had a mission to complete before dying.”
Bobo Balde: Celtic Star’s Story All Too Familiar for Many Ex-Players
Mental health after a football career ends is something that too many people in the modern game don’t seem to talk about, or many simply don’t care.
Perhaps it’s fitting that the other, recent high-profile case of a former Scottish football star requiring an urgent mental health intervention was Rangers legend Paul Gascoigne.
Proof, if ever it were needed to show those on either side of Glasgow’s great divide seeking to make sick jokes or score points on these topics, that mental illness doesn’t care what team you support.
I won’t name names, because it is not my place to do so, but I think it’s well-documented that Bobo Balde is certainly not the first, nor will he be the last former Celtic player to face mental health challenges after his career ends.
Celtic have a former players association, set up by former player Joe Miller, and they do some superb work. However, it is a small organization and there is only so much they can do.
Celtic, the club, should lead the way on this, and take a more active role in promoting mental health awareness, and especially for those who gave the club years of dedicated service as Balde and many others did at the peak of their careers.
Even a simple phone call to see how former players are doing can go a long way. In fact, and I say this from personal experience, sometimes that little bit of contact can make a massive difference.
Suffers of mental health conditions often feel isolated, alone and that no one cares. I think there are plenty of us here in the Celtic online community, and the wider support who care a great deal about heroes like Big Bobo and we want to do all we can for them.
I know that, on occasion, people at the club do read this blog. At a time when so many of us are angry at those running Celtic for a multitude of reasons, I implore those same people, please, reach out, get in touch with Bobo Balde or his family and see what you can do to help.
Not only is it the right thing to do, but at a time when those running the club need all the fan goodwill they can get, this would be an easy way to earn some.
And in the unlikely event that he himself somehow ends up reading this, to Bobo Balde I say: “Get well soon big man. You never stopped fighting for us on the park, and now, off the park, we are all right behind you in this new fight that you face.
“You’ll Never Walk Alone.”