Scottish football’s goal of the month award has gone to an 11-year-old Celtic fan. Quite understandably, the lad is “over the moon”.
Jay Beatty, who has Down’s Syndrome, racked up a whopping 97% of the vote in the Scottish Professional Football League’s (SPFL) competition for January.
Jay netted the penalty in a half-time competition during Celtic’s 2-0 win against Hamilton on January 17, after being invited to the game as a guest of the Bhoys.
He’s been in the Celtic spotlight before, when former Celtic star Georgios Samaras picked him out of the crowd during Celtic’s title-winning lap of honour last season after then Celtic manager Neil Lennon gifted him his winner’s medal.
And Jay’s connections to the Celtic team don’t end there. He’s from the town of Lurgan in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. Guess who else was born in the town – Neil Lennon.
Samaras (who was not born in  Lurgan, but in Crete) has since formed a special bond with Jay, and it was Georgios who told him the good news. It had to be via a video link, however, since the Greek striker now plays for Al-Hilal in Saudi Arabia.
Special announcement as Georgios Samaras reveals #SPFL Goal of the Month winner. Thanks for yr help Sami! Watch here http://t.co/yHzVKFpbTB
— SPFL (@spfl) February 20, 2015
Jay’s dad Martin described how the victory was revealed to his son. ”His mum sat him down in front of the TV this morning and he thought he was going to watch some Celtic goals, so he wasn’t expecting it.
“It’s unbelievable that people would do this for him – sometimes I just feel like crying.
“When you have a former Celtic manager in Neil Lennon calling to congratulate him, Georgios Samaras a Greek international footballer making the announcement, people like Paolo Nutini tweeting about it, and then tens of thousands of people in Glasgow and around the world doing the same it is just so touching.
“It is just very humbling.”
Source: SNAPPA
