UPDATE: UEFA opens disciplinary proceedings against Celtic after fan's rush onto Parkhead pitch. Read more here.
CELTIC face further UEFA action in a European match after a supporter was apprehended for allegedly invading the pitch to confront Paris-Saint Germain star Kylian Mbappe.
The incident happened in the aftermath of Edinson Cavani’s 40th-minute goal, which gave PSG a 3-0 lead. The French side went on to beat the Hoops 5-0 at Parkhead.
The fan who was led away by stewards was booed by Celtic fans following the incident which leaves the Hoops facing a 12th Euro punishment in seven seasons over fans misbehaviour.
There is concern that the club will be hit off the back of the past Uefa penalties, which have totalled more than £160,000.
The match was held up for nearly a minute after the Cavani goal as stewards dealt with the pitch invader.
It comes after police launched an investigation into the behaviour of fans during Celtic's Champions League qualifier clash against Linfield in the wake of concerns over pro-IRA singing and banners. Celtic were hit with a £20,500 Uefa fine.
BT Sport presenter Darrell Currie discussed the incident at half-time saying: “It’s not been a good night so far for Celtic and a fan came on the pitch as well, confronted Mbappe.
“And I can tell you, all the rest of the fans around us were fuming, furious with him going on the pitch.”
"That reaction said it all really,” said Celtic’s manager Brendan Rodgers. “It was disappointing for any ground, any club, a supporter getting on to the pitch like that.
"It was bitterly disappointing and I’m sure the club will deal with that. Whoever that person was it shouldn’t be anything we should see, especially on a football field.
I think the stewards dealt with it at the time and I’m sure the club will deal with it. The crowd and their reaction told you everything you needed to know.”
Unai Emery, PSG’s head coach, shrugged off the suggestion of Mbappé being negatively affected. “Kylian is a very young player, but he has experience,” Emery said.
“Nights like this will give him more experience. He wants to become a great player and I thought he showed a lot of confidence.”
The sanction on each of the previous 11 occasions over fan misbehaviour has been a fine from the governing body UEFA and there is a concern the UEFA penalty could be harsher.
Four years ago Celtic were hit with a £42,000 fine by UEFA after the Green Brigade display banners including one depicting IRA hunger striker Bobby Sands before a Champions League match defeat by AC Milan.
In a statement, Celtic then warned continued misbehaviour could see them play European games behind closed doors, with chief executive Peter Lawell accusing the Green Brigade of damaging the club's reputation.; And fans raised concerns on social media of a harsh penalty over latest furore for persistent offending.
And at the time of the 2013 incident, it was the fourth time the European governing body had taken action against the Glasgow club as a result of fan indiscretions in the previous two years.
Celtic were fined £12,600 (15,000 euro) in 2011 after supporters chanted pro-IRA slogans during a Europa League match against Rennes.
They were then handed a further £21,000 (25,000 euro) punishment after their followers unfurled a banner criticising Uefa and set off flares during a later match in the same competition at Italian side Udinese.
The Celtic fines
* July 2017: Linfield (H) - £20,500 fine for illicit banners
* February, 2017: Manchester City (A)- £16,000 for fireworks and crowd trouble
* August, 2016: Hapeol Beer Sheva (H) – £8,616 for displaying of Palestine flags
* December 2015: Fenerbahce (A) – £10,000 for improper conduct of team as well as flares
* March 2015: Inter Milan (A) - £5850 for improper conduct of team, £3650 fine for flares
* February 2015: Dinamo Zagreb (A) - £7400 fine for inappropriate crowd behaviour
* July 2014: KR Reykjavik (H) - £16,000 fine for illicit banner
* December 2013: AC Milan (H) - £42,200 fine for illicit banner
* July 2013: Cliftonville (H) - £4200 fine for flares
* March 2012: Udinese (A) - £21,000 fine for flares and illicit banner
* December 2011: Rennes (A) - £12,700 fine for illicit chanting
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel