BRENDAN Rodgers last night appealed to the Green Brigade to leave politics at the Parkhead turnstiles as Celtic prepared to play an important Champions League qualifier without the backing of the most vocal section of their support.

The safe-standing section of Celtic Park will be closed for the first leg of the third qualifying round against Rosenborg this evening as well as the Ladbrokes Premiership game against Hearts next month.

The Scottish champions have acted after“serious incidents of unsafe behaviour” against Hearts in May and the European tie against Linfield last week.

Rodgers has publicly backed the decision of the Celtic board, who have also banned the ultra element of their fanbase from buying tickets for their away games against Sunderland on Saturday and Rosenborg next week, and admitted he was saddened by events last week.

“I have always been aware of Celtic’s football club’s heritage, its charitable work and its football work,” he said. “That’s what it’s all about, why it was started in 1888 and how it is to this present day.

“Celtic is not a political arena for any supporters to come into and display any sort of political element. It is based around football.

“There isn’t a need for it. Some supporters might say, ‘Listen, no. There is a political element to football and there is a basis there to tell a story’.

“But no. They might do it other countries around Europe where this ultra factor goes beyond football. But the governance factor in Britain is different.

“One of the big things for me is also the safety element. If you are putting flares up there in a ground, then you open yourselves to these things. People say, ‘It won’t happen’ but it can.

“The political element is not acceptable. There are forums and platforms for that outside of football. Take that somewhere else. It’s not for inside Celtic Park. It’s not what the values are, it’s not about the ethos of what Celtic is and it’s certainly not what I am about as a manager.”

A banner displayed an image of the Northern Irishman in a road sign with the phrase “Rodgers at Work” – a clear reference to the “Sniper at Work” warning issued by the IRA against British troops during the Troubles – was displayed at the Linfield match.

UEFA, who have taken disciplinary action against Celtic on no fewer than 12 occasions since 2011 and fined them £140,000, have charged the Glasgow club with three different offences.

Rodgers praised the support the members of the Green Brigade have given his team during the past 12 months, but implored them to concentrate on backing his team, not making contentious political statements, in the future.

“I do want to defend the guys at some point,” he said. “I have been fortunate enough to be around British football at some big clubs in my career. In the last five years especially, I have been around some of the real top clubs and stadiums.

“I can categorically say that the atmosphere inside Celtic Park, not just from that section, is the best you will witness. The noise, the raw passion, everything. What the guys in the corner add is energy and youthfulness, which is actually amazing, it really is.

“The club have worked tirelessly over the years to become the first club in Britain to put in a standing section. And 99.9 per cent of the time, they, along with the rest of the fans, give us this incredible support.

“I have huge admiration for them in terms of the support that they give. But my honest feeling is I’m not with it. I’m very much aligned with the thinking of the board and the people who run the club, and the people who have to pay the fines. Celtic is a football club – nothing else.

“My message is that they are absolutely brilliant in their support and enthusiasm. These guys wake up in the morning and their first thought is Celtic. They think about it morning until night.

“They think of the great ways they can support Celtic – all the other banners and symbols they put out, the work is so admirable. Then they bring a great energy.

“But we don’t need to go down the other route. The message is: ‘Just stick to football and supporting the team that you love’.

“We are very much one club. We are in a great moment in our history as a club and we hopefully have a real exciting moment moving forward. We want all the supporters to be in on that. We don’t want to be putting anyone out or that.

“But when there is maybe a risk of people and their safety at a football game, then the board have to look at it and be serious about it."