UEFA PRESIDENT Aleksander Ceferin has said that he expects supporters to be back into grounds ‘sooner rather than later’ as the European governing body announced the changes to the Europa League and Champions League. The update was shared by Celtic SLO John Paul Taylor and is a welcome boost for Celtic supporters, who are expecting to start the season behind closed doors in August.
Encouraging words from UEFA President Aleksander Čeferin today: “I'm delighted that we are able to resume almost all of our competitions. I am confident that we will not have to endure the fans’ absence for long and that they will be allowed into stadiums sooner rather than later
— Celtic FC SLO (@CelticFCSLO) June 17, 2020
As reported by BT, Ceferin said that the supporters absence will not continue in the long term and supporters will be back into grounds watching their teams in the not so distant future.
“I am confident that we will not have to endure the fans’ absence for long and that they will be allowed into stadiums sooner rather than later.”
Celtic will begin their season behind closed doors as the club push for an unprecedented 10-in-a-row. Training has already begun at Lennoxtown with stringent health protocols in place. The players and supporters will be hopeful that the enforced ‘ghost games’ will be at a minimum.
Elsewhere, UEFA confirmed that Celtic will have to play up to three Champions League qualifiers in August and will have to negotiate a tricky period of one-off knock-out games to reach the Group Stages.