Lennon to warn players over Lazio racism threat

NEIL Lennon is set to brief his Celtic players on how to respond if they are targeted for racist abuse by supporters of their Europa League rivals Lazio at Parkhead tonight following a pre-match meeting with UEFA officials.

The Italian club were last week punished by European football’s governing body for their fans making fascist gestures during the

Group E game with Rennes in

Rome earlier this month.

They were fined 20,000 euro and ordered to close the Curva Nord in the Stadio Olimpico for their home fixture against Celtic next month.

The Serie A club have publicly warned supporters travelling to Glasgow not to indulge in “violence, racism or xenophobia” and Lennon has expressed optimism the encounter, which will be watched by a sell-out crowd, will pass off without incident.

However, the Northern Irishman, whose team are currently top of their Europa League section after a draw against Rennes away and a win over CFR Cluj at home, is conscious of the Lazio fans’ notorious reputation and will speak to his charges before kick-off about how to react if they are singled out.

“We always have a meeting on the morning of the game so I would imagine we’ll get the complete protocol from UEFA should something like that arise,” Lennon said. “We’ll follow the protocol that they set.

“If there is anything new that comes from the meeting with UEFA on the morning of the game then we’ll have a meeting with the players and talk to them about it. We have done that a couple of times this season already to re-ignite their memories and get them to understand what could happen and how to react to it.

“I just hope we’re talking about the football at the end of the day.”