Brendan Rodgers has called out the ‘not acceptable’ Celtic fan behaviour at Villa Park on Tuesday that led to a UEFA disciplinary notice.
As a result, Celtic supporters could be entirely locked out of the club’s Champions League knockout play-off second leg against Bayern Munich.
A smoke bomb was thrown onto the park as Celtic lost 4-2 to Aston Villa in Birmingham, the Bhoys’ final league phase clash of the season.
Celtic were handed a fine and a suspended away day ban by UEFA in September after the use of pyrotechnics in Germany against Borussia Dortmund.
So the most recent UEFA disciplinary notice could mean that fans will be barred from entering the Allianz Arena on February 18.
Celtic have warned fans against booking flights and hotels in Munich because of the potential away fan ban as the club await a decision from UEFA
Celtic boss Brendan Rodgers addressed the press on Friday ahead of his side’s clash against Motherwell on Sunday and was immediately quizzed on the situation.
The Northern Irishman has huge sympathy for the ‘genuine supporters’ who could be impacted and said things must change if punishments are to become as severe as away day lockouts in Europe.
He then went on to brand the misconduct at Villa Park as ‘not acceptable’ and hopes the ban does not come to fruition.
Rodgers said: “I’d be bitterly disappointed for every genuine Celtic supporter. Clearly that’s not been decided yet but it’s serious enough for the club to put that statement out.
“For those Celtic supporters that are genuinely bonded with their club and their team and that traveled near and far over many, many years – to even be at the risk of not going tells you the culmination of events that have taken us to that point.
“So I really hope that it’s not the case for, like I say, the genuine supporter who loves the club and supports the club and have gone to games all over the world – but let’s see what comes from it
I think there’s lots of things in the modern game around behaviour and social behaviours. I really hope that football can be the beacon of change for lots of this here.
“We would never want to get to a point where we go into a game of such magnitude and we can’t take our support base. I would hope it wouldn’t but if it takes something like that then it has to change.
“The football club can’t keep paying hundreds of thousands of pounds for fines because Celtic is what they are because of the supporters, those genuine supporters that bond with a club.
We aren’t a club that has money pouring in from all angles from sponsorship and TV and everything else. There’s so many things around it that I don’t like but we have the opportunity to change that and I hope it does for the sake of the genuine Celtic support
It’s been a catalogue of events, it’s not just that one (incident at Villa Park). To be in that position where it’s in the balance whether you’re going to be able to go and watch your team or not because of that – it’s been a series of events that’s led to that so yeah, I can understand the frustration.
“I was looking at the game the other night. We’re 2-0 behind, we’ve shown amazing mentality and spirit to come back into the game. We get to 2-1, we’re ready to go again to start and then the smoke bomb comes into the pitch.
We then have to wait for that to take place. So from a football perspective, you’re losing rhythm. I think there’s a safety issue as well clearly for people in the stands.
“I just find it hard to fathom to make the difference between a genuine Celtic supporter and someone who’s there just for a different reason.
For me, our support is absolutely incredible, what we give to the game, the atmosphere that we create. I really hope that we don’t get this sanction brought upon us for this game.
“We have a chance to change it and not just accept it because it’s not acceptable. Our supporters are amazing and we want to keep it that way and and we certainly don’t want them missing out in prestigious games or any game for that matter because of behaviour.”
What Celtic told supporters about Munich travel and hotels
As mentioned, Celtic fans have been warned by the club to think twice about finalising preparations for travelling to Munich and booking hotels.
They said that the club will fight for the supporters to get there but are at the mercy of UEFA ultimately.
The official Celtic statement read: “As a result of the use of pyrotechnics during our match against Borussia Dortmund last year, Celtic Football Club was sanctioned by the UEFA Control, Ethics and Disciplinary Body.
“The decision meant that, not only did the Club receive a fine of €20,000, but also that, if such behaviour was repeated at a match in the next two years, the Club would be prevented from selling tickets to supporters for one away match in UEFA club competitions.
Unfortunately, the club has received a further disciplinary notice from UEFA following the match against Aston Villa FC on Wednesday evening.
“The Club will obviously make robust representations to UEFA and will make every effort to ensure that our fans can attend our next UEFA Champions League match. However, clearly there is a risk that supporters may not be able to attend
In light of this situation, it is incumbent on the club to make supporters aware of this risk, when considering making arrangements for travel, until further information is provided by UEFA.”
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