Celtic given green light as safety certificate issued
CELTIC has had its stadium safety certificate renewed after a meeting with police and city council chiefs at Celtic Park.
The certificate was due to have run out on July 22 but was extended until the end of this month to allow the European Champions League qualifying tie with Rosenborg to go ahead.
The Evening Times reported this week how the club asked for an extension and that concerns raised by police last month put the renewal in doubt unless action was taken.
At a meeting in June of the Safety Advisory Group to discuss renewal, police had raised concerns over the use of flares by fans in the green brigade section at the final league match at Celtic Park last season against Hearts.
Several fans could be seen holding up flares in the section, which also included giant green and white banners covering several rows of fans.
The club was told by the Safety Advisory Group to take action before a certificate could be signed off.
Celtic, this week, acted to close the standing section for two matches after warning fans about their behaviour.
At the meeting, the police and Glasgow City Council licensing officials were satisfied by the action Celtic had taken to address the problem and the certificate was renewed for the coming season.
Between the two meetings the club was asked to provide detail on what action it was taking to address the concerns raised by the authorities over the incident.
The day before the certificate was due to expire, before the extension, Celtic chief executive, Peter Lawwell, announced the two-match closure of the standing area where the green brigade congregate. It was empty for the Rosenborg match and will remain empty for the opening match of the Premier League against Hearts next month.
The announcement was followed up with a letter to Celtic fans explaining the decision citing further concerns over behaviour during the recent match with Belfast side Linfield.
He said the club had to “take immediate action to comply with its responsibilities”.
The letter was followed by an appeal from the Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers to fans to leave politics outside the stadium.
He said Celtic Park was “not a political arena” but “based around football”.
The Northern Irishman said: “The political element is not acceptable. There are forums and platforms for that outside football.”
He told fans to “take it somewhere else”.
He also criticised the letting off of flares, stating there were safety issues.
A city council source said the situation would continue to be monitored.
The Evening Times contacted Celtic FC for comment but no-one returned our calls.
The stadium safety certificate is required to be renewed on a yearly basis.
The national stadium at Hampden, Ibrox, Firhill and Scotstoun also require certificates to be in place to allow events to be held.