CELTIC last night blamed Swedish football hooligans for infiltrating the away section at the Friends Arena in Stockholm for the Europa League Play match against AIK and fighting with Swedish police at during the half-time interval.
Celtic complained about the presence of the locals in the section reserved for the travelling support before the game and afterwards revealed that the section with around 350 Celtic fans had been infiltrated by hooligans from AIK’s bitter rivals Hammarby.
A Celtic supporter in the crowd contacted The Celtic Star during the second half with this message, which we reported last night at the end of our match report.
“Watching the way the other Celtic ‘fans’ are behaving at half-time is just embarrassing. Total morons fighting with the local security guards, masks on, scarves round the face and antagonising them – absolute embarrassment.
“No doubt you’ll hear about the police being ‘heavy handed’ after the game. Total nonsense, it was 100% the ‘fans’ who instigated any assault and abuse. So sad to see.”
However Celtic’s assertion that the trouble was caused by Hammarby hooligans needs to be fully investigated.
UEFA’s Match Delegate is sure to include this crowd trouble – together with the flares that were set off in his match report and that could spell trouble for Celtic under UEFA’s Strict Liability rules. However Celtic’s complaints BEFORE the match about the local hooligans from AIK’s rivals being allowed into the Celtic section would tend to point the finger more towards the Swedish hosts rather than the visitors.
Flare up! ☘️ pic.twitter.com/rFY1X2305B
— The Shamrock Magazine☘️ (@TheShamrock1888) August 30, 2019
Clearly though there is still uncertainty about what actually happened and who was involved in the trouble.
Celtic intend to vigorously defend themselves against any UEFA charge and have compiled video evidence to support their case, proving that the trouble was NOT caused by Celtic Supporters but by Hammarby louts.
A Celtic spokesperson released this statement after the game, as reported in Scottish Sun.
Not sure what the problem is but Clearly see Police start this with Batons for what looks like no reason here. Forcing Celtic fans to back into a fence. This needs a thorough investigation @CelticFCSLO pic.twitter.com/2VtDwaXkfa
— Michael McCahill (@MickMcCahill) August 29, 2019
”We are aware that a number of Swedish supporters entered the area for visiting fans and we are currently investigating events.
“It was clear many Hammarby fans were in the Celtic sections and this was raised by Celtic officials before the match.
“A lot of Swedish fans managed to infiltrate the away section which we believe was a major factor in the issues which arose, there was a lack of control at the access points to the Celtic section.”
Also on The Celtic Star…
Sandman’s Definitive Ratings – Celtic at IKEA HQ, The Flipside of the Cluj Coin…see HERE.
Europa League Completed Pots – teams we’d like Celtic to play and sides we’d like to avoid…see HERE.
Lennon deserves praise for the way Celtic dealt with AIK Stockholm reckons David Potter…see HERE.
AIK 1 Celtic 4 – Crowd Trouble on the Day We Win Away…see HERE.
