NEIL Lennon has admitted he is disappointed that Celtic won’t be playing in front of a full house when they take on Lazio in the Stadio Olimpico in Rome in the Europa League next month.
The Serie A club have been forced to shut down sections of their 70,634-capacity ground by UEFA as a punishment for their supporters making fascist salutes in their Group E match with Rennes earlier this month.
Sections, 46, 47, 48 and 49 of the famous arena – which include the Curva Nord that houses the ultra element of their fanbase – will be closed for the match on Thursday, November 7.
READ MORE: Celtic's Europa League opponents Lazio hit with partial stadium closure by UEFA
The development increases the chances of the Scottish champions, who have been granted a 9,000 ticket allocation, getting a result against their Italian opponents.
Lennon, whose side have drawn with Rennes away and beaten Cluj at home so far in the Europa League, is pleased the game won’t be played behind closed doors. But he was looking forward to sampling the atmosphere of a packed Stadio Olimpico.
“It’s great for our fans that they can get in,” he said. “It just takes a bit of gloss off it because it’s a glamour game for us as you are going to Rome to play in the Olympic Stadium.
“It’s distasteful all the stuff that is going on. This week at international level as well [there were monkey chants and one-armed salutes in the Bulgaria v England Euro 2020 qualifier]. It just puts a stain on the game.
“But sometimes it kills the atmosphere of a real big game you are looking forward to. I think the players would rather a full house, but whatever crowd is there, we are going to get good backing and I expect it to be a high-quality game.”
READ MORE: Celtic fined again by UEFA after setting off fireworks in Europa League clash with Cluj
Celtic were this week fined €12,000 by UEFA for their fans setting off fireworks in the stands before their match against Cluj – taking the total amount they have been fined by European football’s governing body in the last 12 years to over £250,000.
“I’m glad we are not getting punished for other things [such as racism],” said Lennon.
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