Livingston have expressed concern that Celtic fans broke pre-match agreements by entering the pitchside area to unveil two “unapproved” banners in their stadium during Sunday’s match between the teams.
As they usually do, the Lions allocated three of the four stands at the Tony Macaroni Arena to the Hoops in order to fill the ground and generate revenue.
However, the situation backfired on Sunday when several visiting supporters left the stands to stand in front of the advertising boards and roll out a huge banner along the side of the pitch commemorating the 1916 Easter Rising in Dublin, which read ‘Born into slavery, they were Freedom’s Sons’.
Another banner was unfurled behind one of the goals at half-time that read ‘Hold on to our title Bhoys. Don’t Give up The Dream’.
Livingston released a statement on Wednesday addressing a situation that angered many of their supporters.
“Prior to this fixture, a visiting supporters group called ‘The Green Brigade’, via the Celtic SLO (supporter liaison officer), requested a Tifo display in all three stands allocated to the Celtic support and to have a banner displayed along the front of the East Stand,” it read.
“The banner was to read ‘You Play for Us and We’ll Sing for You’.
“This request was refused and instead permission was granted for a Tifo and banner display in the South Stand only.
“This matter was discussed at the pre-match meeting, held in the week leading up to the match, where representatives from the club, Celtic FC, Amberstone (our steward company) and a delegate from the SPFL were all present.
“The agreement for a Tifo and banner display in the South Stand was understood by all in attendance.
“On match-day around an hour prior to kick off, a further request for a Tifo display in all three stands was requested by the same visiting supporters group and was again refused.
“Against the instruction of the club and police, the banner was allowed into the ground, unchecked, through an emergency gate that was opened due to safety concerns.
“The banner was then displayed along the front of the East Stand – again, against the agreed procedure.
“It was then deemed that this banner and the Tifo display would be allowed to continue on the grounds of public safety for those in the ground and to prevent further disorder that may have delayed the kick off or jeopardised the game going ahead.
“At the start of second half a further unapproved banner was then unfurled. The banner itself wasn’t an issue as such, however, again, visiting supporters were permitted access trackside to display the banner which is wholly and utterly unacceptable.
“Full discussions are ongoing with external partners who were working at the stadium on Sunday to find out why a number of these incidents were allowed to happen and what steps will be taken to ensure there is no repeat in future fixtures.”
Despite Sunday’s issues, manager David Martindale said he would still prefer to see Livi’s stadium packed with Old Firm fans.
“I think the situation could have been dealt with better on Sunday,” he said, speaking at his media briefing on Wednesday. “But for me, would I rather have a stadium with 8000 Old Firms in it? Yep, all day long.
“It brings its own problems at the same time, but I think it brings a great atmosphere to the game of football.
“Since it came into the Premiership, a lot of the club’s business model has been based on away fans. Some folk won’t like hearing that, but at the end of the day those away crowds probably make up about 33 per cent of our turnover.
“Even if we take the finances out of the equation, I’d still want to fill those three stands, whether it’s with home fans or away fans, because for me that’s football.
“I want to be working in those high-pressured environments with great atmospheres.”
Ancelotti defends Kroos substitution against Bayern Munich
Carlo Ancelotti defended his decision to substitute Toni Kroos during Real Madrid's 2-2 draw with Bayern Munich.
The two European heavyweights shared the spoils in a thrilling Champions League semi-final first leg at the Allianz Arena, where Vinicius Junior's late penalty levelled the tie.
Vinicius had opened the scoring in the 24th minute after latching onto Kroos' delicious throughball, one of a game-high 15 line-breaking passes the Germany midfielder played during the first half.
The 34-year-old was replaced by Brahim Diaz for the final 14 minutes of the contest, which Bayern had turned around thanks to second-half strikes from Leroy Sane and Harry Kane.
But Ancelotti, who knows the support of Madrid's fans will be crucial when he welcomes his former club to Santiago Bernabeu for next week's second leg, explained his thinking.
"Jude Bellingham had cramp, Toni Kroos played a spectacular game, but the plan was to try to recover the control of the game by putting fresh legs in," the Italian told reporters during his post-match press conference.
"As always, at this point in the season, we have a great opportunity to play in another final. It's an even tie against a great team. It will be another 90 minutes of suffering, but in an atmosphere that we know quite well. The fans are going to help us."
Meanwhile, Thomas Tuchel knows Bayern will have their work cut out in the second leg, but has encouraged his players to be confident and embrace the challenge.
"The situation is now very clear," he said. "We go to Madrid and the winner takes it all. We are ready to fight. It is important to believe that.
"It is still possible. It is 50-50. It is one of the toughest places to win, but that is also what makes this challenge exciting."
Manchester United clearout continues as two more senior boardroom figures depart
Manchester United have continued their clearout under Jim Ratcliffe by confirming the departures of Patrick Stewart and Cliff Baty.
Interim chief executive Stewart and chief financial officer Baty will depart Old Trafford at the end of the current campaign.
Stewart, who replaced Richard Arnold in the position at the start of the year, will be temporarily replaced by Jean-Claude Blanc until Omar Berrada arrives in July, while Roger Bell will take over from Baty.
The news was confirmed by United on their official website on Tuesday.
INEOS Sport chief Blanc is well known to Ratcliffe, who recently bought a 27.7-per-cent stake in United and is in control of footballing affairs.
Bell also has ties to INEOS and will now take up the same CFO role at Old Trafford.
Ratcliffe said: "I would like to personally thank both Patrick and Cliff for their support in helping us get to know the club and making us feel welcome and I respect their decisions to now move on as we establish a new management team for the club."
Executive co-chairman Joel Glazer said: "I would like to thank Patrick and Cliff for their dedicated service to Manchester United and wish them well for the future.
"Both have been a source of invaluable advice and expertise over many years, and Patrick has served an important role as interim CEO during this transitional phase."
Since Ratcliffe purchased a minority stake in United, the club have made a number of other changes behind the scenes.
John Murtough stepped down as football director after more than a decade at the club, with Dan Ashworth lined up to replace him, while Jason Wilcox has been appointed as technical director.
United are sixth in the Premier League with four games remaining, raising questions over the future of manager Erik ten Hag under the new regime.
Bayern were victims of Real Madrid's lethal efficiency, says Tuchel
Bayern Munich were victims of Real Madrid's lethal efficiency in Tuesday's 2-2 draw but the Germans are ready to beat them in next week's Champions League semi-final return leg, says coach Thomas Tuchel.
The Bavarians struck twice in four minutes early in the second half with a shot from Leroy Sane and a Harry Kane penalty to turn the game around after Vinicius Junior had put the visitors ahead in the 24th against the run of play.
Brazilian striker Vinicius also bagged an equaliser with an 83rd-minute spot kick as Bayern were pushing for a third goal.
Tuchel felt Bayern were in a strong position to stretch their lead going into the closing stages, but instead they will travel to Madrid next Wednesday with the tie all square.
"The result is what it is and it is not worth spending any time thinking about it," Tuchel, who will leave Bayern at the end of the season after a disappointing domestic campaign, said at his post-match press conference.
"Real have done it before, to score twice with two chances.
"We are not the first team to suffer that. They have the finish, they have the quality to do that."
Reflecting on the match, Tuchel added: "We had a strong start, then we lost a bit of our rhythm.
"Then [later in the game] we should have scored a third, but we were not efficient enough, not cold enough to add a third. Then we gifted them a penalty."
Bayern enjoyed a strong start and also had chances to score again after going 2-1 up.
They will now need to win against Real, who are chasing a 15th European Cup, in Madrid if they are to advance to the final at Wembley.
Borussia Dortmund and Paris Saint-Germain face each other in the other semi-final, with the first leg of that tie taking place on Wednesday.
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