CELTIC have vowed John Guidetti will defend himself against a Scottish Football Association notice of complaint that alleged he made an offensive comment relating to Rangers.
Guidetti, the on-loan Manchester City forward, was filmed by Dutch television singing a song about himself that included the line "and the H**s are deid", something deemed to be offensive by the SFA's compliance officer. The matter will be dealt with by an independent tribunal on April 9, although a Celtic spokesperson said they plan on defending Guidetti who has until next Monday to respond to the complaint.
"We are very surprised and disappointed that this has even found its way to an SFA judicial panel," he said. "John Guidetti will be defending this charge."
Celtic also expressed their disappointment after UEFA imposed two separate fines totally almost £10,000 relating to events during last month's Europe League tie away to Internazionale in Milan.
The club were fined £5860 for "improper conduct" on the field, after Virgil van Dijk was sent off for two bookings and five other players were cautioned. They received an additional £3600 punishment for flares sent off by visiting supporters inside the San Siro, something they felt "damaged" the club's reputation.
"Clearly Celtic Football Club is disappointed by today's decisions," read a statement. "It should be noted that Celtic players have an excellent disciplinary record in European football over many years and in Scotland, Celtic has been top of the League's disciplinary table for the last three years, something which we are rightly proud of.
"Again, it is disappointing that the actions of one or two individuals within a support of well over 3000, have let the club down by using flares at this match.
"Inter Milan and the local Italian authorities applauded our fans for their excellent conduct and positive support. Once again, however, the actions of these individuals have done nothing but damage the club they claim to support. Our fans have earned a wonderful reputation for their magnificent support of the club and we will not allow the safety of our fans, or their great reputation to be compromised by actions of this tiny minority."
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