Seven contracted and former Celtic players were killed in the First World War: Archie McMillan, Bob Craig, Donald McLeod, John McLaughlin, Leigh Roose, Patrick Slavin and Peter Johnstone. Roose and Slavin were among those who died in the Battle of the Somme, with McLaughlin, McLeod, McMillan and Johnstone - the only contracted Celtic player - killed in 1917, with Craig dying the following year.

The booing intensified after Beaton blew his whistle to begin the moment of silence, which lasted for around 13 seconds before the referee's whistle was blown again to signal its end. A lower tier of the North Curve corner section that houses the Green Brigade supporter group was notably empty, only beginning to fill up with supporters after the silence had ended.

Unlike their opponents, Kilmarnock, the Celtic players did not have a remembrance poppy displayed on their shirts, which the Green Brigade have previously protested about. At half-time against Aberdeen in 2010, the group unfurled a large banner that carried the phrase "no bloodstained poppys [sic] on our hoops," at a time when ones were present on their hooped shirts.

The banners also read: "Your deeds would shame all the devils in hell." Three countries listed underneath were Afghanistan, Iraq and Ireland, referring to wars in the former two as well as Operation Banner in Northern Ireland during the Troubles.