The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Rodgers: no discipline issue despite Uefa charges
Brendan Rodgers insists discipline is not an issue at Celtic despite two Uefa charges arising from their Champions League qualifying clash with Linfield.
The European governing body opened a case against striker Leigh Griffiths for tying a Hoops scarf to a goal post after the 2-0 win at Windsor Park on Friday.
Uefa has also instigated disciplinary action against Celtic after picking up five yellow cards, one of which was controversially given to Griffiths for presumably taking too long at a corner when he was being pelted with missiles – including a glass bottle.
Ahead of the second leg of the second qualifying-round clash at Celtic Park tonight, where the Scotland striker could be struggling with a calf injury, boss Rodgers said: “The hearing is on Thursday so we will see what comes back from that. If you look over the course of my time my players are very disciplined in terms of how they play the game, tactically and composure in the game.
“Sometimes you get that in European games. There were one or two that weren’t bookings as such but I don’t think you need to worry about the discipline of Celtic.”
Rodgers reiterated his surprise at Spanish referee Alejandro Hernandez’s decision to book Griffiths and claimed it may have led to him making the scarf gesture.
The Northern Irishman said: “The booking seemed strange at the time, everyone in the stadium will recognise that.
“It is an incident I don’t want to go overboard on. It is not something that we want to see at Windsor Park or any football ground.”
Rodgers is confident that the return game at Celtic Park, where there will be around 1,500 Linfield fans, will pass off without incident.
“It is not a game that I am overly worried about in terms of behaviour,” said Rodgers, who revealed that left-back Emilio Izaguirre could be on his way out of Celtic Park.