Celtic will take stern action against fans who caused almost $15,000 damage to a stand at Motherwell’s ground Fir Park last week.
The Glasgow club have already banned 128 fans from home and away games, while 250 season ticket holders are to be moved from the area of Parkhead reserved for the Green Brigade group.
A 5-0 win for Celtic was marred by the disturbances in the South Stand, where a Green Brigade banner was displayed.
A flare was let off and two green smoke bombs were thrown into the goalmouth, one of them landing yards from Hoops goalkeeper Fraser Forster according to reports.
As the Scottish League prepare to make Celtic pay for the damages, the club has issued “precautionary suspensions” to 128 supporters.
A Celtic spokesman said, “Following events on Friday evening at Fir Park Stadium, Celtic Football Club today announced that it has issued precautionary suspensions against 128 individuals preventing them attending matches involving Celtic, pending further investigation. These suspensions will cover matches at Celtic Park and away matches.
“In addition, the club will be relocating around 250 season book holders in Section 111 to other areas within the stadium, or offering refunds covering the remainder of the season to those who do not wish to be relocated.
“Events such as those on Friday night do not represent the Celtic support or the club. These events were an embarrassment to our great football club and are absolutely indefensible.
“It is clear that there is an element which has no hesitation in bringing Celtic’s name into disrepute. This is something the club will not tolerate and we therefore have no other option but to take this action. We will not allow the great name of Celtic to be damaged in this way any more -- our supporters deserve more than this.”
The Celtic board have vowed to ban any troublemakers and are adamant that they will protect the club’s image.
The statement added, “Celtic Football Club is in excellent shape on and off the field. The club is in a very safe and strong position and we have a young, exciting team working hard to deliver quality football and success for our supporters, as they did on Friday evening with a magnificent performance.
“This is what we want to be talking about and this is what we want to celebrate.
“Celtic has a proud 125-year history and fundamental to that history have been our fans. Our supporters enjoy a wonderful reputation earned across many years, many families and many generations. This is something we must protect vigorously.”
The Green Brigade supporters group released a statement on Sunday when they insisted their members were not responsible for the damage, but admitted they should have self-policed the section at Fir Park better.
UEFA has already opened disciplinary proceedings against the club after the Green Brigade unfurled a banner depicting IRA hunger striker Bobby Sands and Scottish warrior William Wallace during the Champions League clash with AC Milan last month.
Nigerian international Efe Ambrose was the Celtic hero on the field when he scored in the 5-0 win over Motherwell hours after becoming father to a baby girl and watching the World Cup draw.
Manager Neil Lennon said, “I would say it’s been a Carlsberg day for Efe. He had a baby girl this morning, watched the World Cup draw and topped off a great day by scoring in a fantastic win. Days don’t get much better than that.
“There was no chance of him missing the game. He has tunnel vision when it comes to his football. He is a fantastic professional, one of the best I have ever worked with. He is low maintenance, he is never injured and trains every day.”
Kris Commons scored another double with Anthony Stokes and Bahrudin Atajic also on target in a one-sided game.
Lennon added, “It shows the levels they can rise to. They are all at the top of the game. The pace, intensity and concentration they are playing at is where we want them to be.”
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