Hoops hit with £11k Stockholm UEFA fine
UEFA beaks have fined Celtic £11,000 for fan trouble in their Europa League clash away to AIK Stockholm last month.
The Hoops were punished because a number of missiles were thrown and flares were
let off at the game in Sweden, which Celtic won 4-1.
There was also fighting in the stadium although local sources claim that was caused by rival Hammarby fans.
AIK were also fined £8000 as some of their supporters blocked stairways at the stadium.
This is the latest in a long list of UEFA fines in Europe for Celtic, while the microscope has also been turned on Rangers in recent weeks.
UEFA closed part of Ibrox for their clash with Legia Warsaw because of bigoted singing.
The Hoops take on Kilmarnock tomorrow at home and boss Neil Lennon is set to hand Greg Taylor a debut against his former club.
The £2.2million fullback, signed on the final day of the transfer window, has been kept out of the champions’ squad due to injury and the form of Boli Bolingoli.
But Taylor’s rival pulled an adductor muscle in the 1-1 Europa League draw against Rennes on Thursday night and has been ruled out of the visit of Killie and the midweek Betfred Cup quarter-final tie against Partick Thistle.
Lennon said: “Greg is good. He obviously hadn’t played for a while and did a lot of conditioning work but Boli’s form has been good and when you’re looking at your bench Jonny Hayes can play a number of positions.
“That’s why Greg wasn’t in the squad but with Boli being out for maybe a couple of games, he could be in contention to play.
“Boli might be fit for Hibs on Saturday week but Greg is a contender for Kilmarnock, absolutely.”
Lennon made history in his first stint as Celtic boss when he led them to a five-game unbeaten run in away European games – Udinese, Rennes, Helsinki, Helsingborgs and Spartak Moscow.
The Northern Irishman has now matched that feat following the point in Roazhon Park which sets Celtic up nicely ahead of their revenge mission against Cluj after the Romanians knocked them out the Champions League.
Asked about the away form, Lennon said: “It’s pleasing because I often played on the wrong side of those results.
“I told the players at half-time on Thursday: ‘You’re playing well but are you going to play well and lose or are we going to change this mentality?’
“It’s unacceptable to have played well but still be getting on that plane with a defeat.
“In my first spell it was a question of building that side but this team is already more rounded and polished. It’s not a question of being in this to build – we’re in this now to compete and that’s the difference between the two teams.”
Kille rival Angelo Alessio only took over from Steve Clarke in the summer but has already come under fire for poor results.
But Lenny leapt to the defence of the Italian.
He added: “It’s a difficult start but Angelo had huge shoes to fill in terms of what Steve did.
“Now he is seeing the results starting to blossom for him and we always have a difficult game against Kilmarnock. The last couple of seasons have been meteoric for them.
“So there is a good mentality there and we will have to play well to win. Public perception is the way it is now but this guy has a good pedigree.
“There are always kneejerk reactions in football now. Managers under pressure after three or four games is just crazy.”