CELTIC are unlikely to face any punishment from Uefa after the late kick-off of their Champions League tie against Barcelona on Tuesday night.
Congestion problems meant the game was delayed by half an hour to allow thousands of queuing fans outside Celtic Park time to take their seats in the stadium.
Both sets of players were left kicking their heels in the tunnel for fear that the arrival of the teams on the park could cause anxious fans outside to charge the turnstiles. While other games around Europe were heading towards half-time, Celtic and Barcelona were finally able to leave the tunnel and a further five-minute delay was imposed to allow the players time to warm-up.
Celtic chiefs must now wait for the report from Markus Merk, the German referee, to arrive at Uefa headquarters but a Uefa spokesman believes the Glasgow club are unlikely to be fined for the delay. “It is very unlikely that action will be taken against Celtic because the decision concerning the delay was taken by Uefa in co-operation with the local police authorities,” he said.
Reports have suggested that a faulty turnstile at Celtic Park was at the root of the problems but Celtic have denied any difficulties with the facilities at the stadium. “There were no problems with any of the turnstiles,” a spokesperson confirmed. “Regarding the congestion situation, a meeting will be held concerning all the various parties.”