Celtic avoid Champions League Bayern Munich match fan ban as club fined €10,000 by UEFA

Celtic have been handed a fine by UEFA instead of a fan ban for their away leg against Bayern Munich.

The club were facing a potential ban on away fans following repeated use of pyrotechnics at European games.

During the team’s match against Aston Villa in Birmingham last week, a smoke bomb was thrown from the away section and a fresh disciplinary charge was brought against the club.

However, following a UEFA Control, Ethics and Disciplinary Body hearing, the Scottish champions have instead been fined €10,000.

This means travelling supporters will be able to attend the match at the Allianz Arena on February 18.

In a statement, Celtic said: “Celtic Football Club notes today’s decision by the UEFA Control, Ethics and Disciplinary Body to fine Celtic 10,000 Euros, following our match against Aston Villa, for the throwing of fireworks.

“We can confirm that Celtic supporters will be able to attend our forthcoming Champions League match in Munich.

“As we had said previously, Celtic made every effort to ensure that our fans could attend this match, and we are pleased that UEFA has considered our detailed submission.

“We can also confirm that the original suspended sentence remains in place, as a result of the previous use of pyrotechnics, most recently at the match against Borussia Dortmund, by a small minority of supporters.

“Again we must make it very clear that pyrotechnics have absolutely no place at our matches and should further incidents occur, then clearly, once again, there is an extremely high risk of our supporters not being permitted access to future matches.”

UEFA previously handed Celtic a £17,000 fine last year after flares were lit at the League Phase game at Borussia Dortmund, and also imposed a suspended ban on selling away tickets that would come into force if the incident occurred again at any game in the following two years.