Brendan Rodgers has responded with a touch of dry humour after being hit with a suspended one-match UEFA ban following Celtic’s Champions League tie away to Bayern Munich.
The issue arose due to the second-half kick-off being delayed, with UEFA also handing Celtic an £8,000 fine for the breach.
Rodgers, speaking ahead of this weekend’s domestic action, downplayed the seriousness of the charge, admitting he was unaware of any wrongdoing at the time.
“Yes, well, to be fair, I’d only read about it,” he said to Celtic TV. “I think it’s one of these ones. I wasn’t aware that we were doing anything different to what we normally did. But sometimes coming out at half-time is a wee bit stricter than normal, what you would have normally at home.
“So, yes, we’ll be losing sleep over it.”
The Celtic boss now faces a one-year probation period, with the suspended ban hanging over his head. If a similar offence occurs within that timeframe, he’ll be forced to sit out a UEFA match.
It’s a minor footnote in what has otherwise been a demanding European campaign for the Hoops, but one that shows UEFA’s tight protocols and the importance placed on timing during high-profile fixtures.
While Rodgers brushed it off, the club will no doubt ensure closer attention is paid to matchday procedures in future European outings, particularly given the tight margins that often define these elite contests.
Hopefully, there will be no breaches form Rodgers over the next twelve months, and Celtic won’t have to sweat over a potential ban for their manager.
