Brendan Rodgers fears his pleas for Celtic fans to ‘follow the rules’ may fall on deaf ears — even after they escaped a UEFA ban from attending the Champions League play-off away leg against Bayern Munich later this month.
UEFA fined Celtic £8,340 for the lighting of fireworks and throwing of objects by a supporter at Villa Park, but the Control, Ethics and Disciplinary Body decided against implementing a suspended ban on away fans.
The punishment is still hanging over Celtic after a series of fines led to the ban — which was suspended for two years — in the wake of major pyro displays by fans in Dortmund last September.
However, the club successfully argued their case that it should not be triggered for the second leg of the play-off against Bayern on February 18, after one fan threw a green smoke canister on to the pitch during the 4-2 defeat by Aston Villa on January 29.
When asked if this was the final chance for offenders within the Celtic fanbase to heed warnings and change their behaviour, Rodgers said: ‘I’m not sure they are going to listen to me, if I’m honest. But let’s hope.
‘You see it throughout football, this element of ultras. It’s not solely Celtic supporters, but my only worry is for Celtic so we can maintain the status that we have.
A smoke canister was thrown from the away end during Celtic’s recent visit to Aston Villa
The club received their second UEFA fine of the season as a result of the incident
Brendan Rodgers is delighted that fans will be able to attend the clash against Bayern Munich
‘I hope we can give that support which the majority of supporters give, which gives us great strength on the pitch, and we can follow the rules and not have any more fines.’
Rodgers also admitted the threat of a ban on away supporters had been a big worry, saying: ‘I was concerned that they wouldn’t be able to travel because they’re such a massive part of this club.
‘The support that we get and the passion that they have for the game, that really drives us and helps us. So to have them there, it’s going to be great and we’ll need them.
‘I hope that we can get that support (and) we can follow the rules and not have any more fines or have anything come against the club.’
A club statement added: ‘As we had said previously, Celtic made every effort to ensure that our fans could attend this match, and we are pleased that UEFA has considered our detailed submission.
‘We can also confirm that the original suspended sentence remains in place, as a result of the previous use of pyrotechnics, most recently at the match against Borussia Dortmund, by a small minority of supporters.
Greg Taylor is yet to sign a new contract at the club and has been linked with a summer move
Taylor’s place will come under threat from fellow Scotland team-mate Kieran Tierney next year
‘Again we must make it very clear that pyrotechnics have absolutely no place at our matches and, should further incidents occur, then clearly, once again, there is an extremely high risk of our supporters not being permitted access to future matches.’
Meanwhile, Rodgers insisted that the return of Kieran Tierney this summer does not mean Greg Taylor will definitely leave the club. The manager said he was not aware of any truth in reports from Croatia that Taylor has agreed a pre-contract with Dinamo Zagreb.
The former Kilmarnock player has fended off competition from a series of signings to remain Celtic’s undisputed first-choice left-back and has made more than 200 appearances.
But a pre-contract deal with fans’ favourite Tierney has led to fresh uncertainty over the likelihood of Taylor’s contract impasse being ended.
‘I’ve had a number of open conversations with Greg on it,’ said Rodgers when asked about Tierney’s return. ‘And I do think that is an issue. There’s no doubt about that.
‘He’s been a starter here for virtually six years. He’s always had a challenge that he’s overcome from other players coming in, which is a great testament to him and his mentality and his professionalism.
Goalkeeper Viljami Sinisalo is set to make his Celtic debut against Raith Rovers this weekend
‘He obviously knows Kieran well and knows his qualities and his abilities. But there still can be room for two of them here. There’s absolutely no doubt.
‘You’re playing upwards of 55 to 60 games a season. You can’t play one player. And I wouldn’t want to play one player in all of those, because you’re just not going to have the right physicality and intensity.
‘But to have two players of that quality here would be absolutely brilliant for the club, for the team and obviously for the changing room. So that’s probably the thing that Greg has to think about.
‘From my perspective, I don’t see it as a problem. Because I know he’ll play a lot of games, he’ll play in big games. And, like I said, as would Kieran.
‘But he has to decide that for himself. It would be a different role for him, but it’s not something that we still can’t conclude.’
When asked whether the Zagreb reports were true, Rodgers said: ‘No, not that I’m aware of. I know there was interest there back in January, but it was nothing that was ever concrete or spoken about too much.
‘My feelings will be still to hope to convince Greg to be here. Of course, as time goes on, the longer it goes on, then that becomes much less.
‘But it doesn’t change his professionalism. He’s a brilliant professional. We’ll just have to see how the next four months go.’
Meanwhile, goalkeeper Viljami Sinisalo is set to make his Celtic debut in today’s Scottish Cup fifth-round tie against Raith Rovers at Parkhead.
The 23-year-old Finland international will deputise for Kasper Schmeichel, who will be given a day off ahead of Wednesday’s clash against Bayern.
‘Kasper Schmeichel won’t play,’ Rodgers said. ‘So Vili will start. Kasper has a little issue with his back so he’ll miss out on the game. Just a short-term thing, it’ll be okay for Wednesday.
‘I’m looking forward to seeing Vili make his debut. Vili’s a great boy.
‘He knew coming into here, he’s got a real top-class goalkeeper to learn from. So sometimes you have to invest your time into learning.
‘He has come in, been patient, understands the role at this point. So it’s really nice for him to get that opportunity.
‘I’ve seen him in pre-season. I’ve seen him throughout the season since and I’ve got no doubts.’
Celtic’s deadline-day signing Jeffrey Schlupp and fellow January arrival Jota have been added to the club’s Champions League squad for the knockout stages.
Rodgers has also added forward Johnny Kenny to his group after the forward returned from his loan at Shamrock Rovers.
Dropping out are Kyogo Furuhashi, Luis Palma and Alex Valle who have all left the club for Rennes, Olympiakos and Como respectively.
