Celtic fans attending the game in Zagreb have been warned to be on guard with supporters ‘targetted' by locals.
Anticipation is high among Celtic fans, who head to Zagreb looking for their first away win of this Champions League campaign.
The good news for Celtic is that Dinamo Zagreb is having an injury crisis. Bruno Petkovic, a key attacker for Zagreb, is expected to miss the game. He joins a long list of injured players, and Zagreb only has 14 fit first-team players available.
Celtic fans issued ‘club colours' warning by club
Celtic's club supporter Liason Officer issued a brief statement to fans in Zagreb: “Fans who have tickets out with the away sector advised not to wear colours, admission is at the discretion of the Stewards Fans are encouraged to carry ID at all times within the city To get to Stadium take Tram 1 or 17.”
The club had previously warned fans ahead of the fixture that they expected “issues” in Zagreb. Sadly, these incidents have now started to happen, with Celtic putting out another statement on the situation.
“Regrettably, we are aware of a number of incidents where Celtic supporters have been targeted in Zagreb. We are currently looking to liaise with these fans who have been affected, and we will offer all the support and assistance we can. Clearly, we would ask all our supporters travelling to be vigilant. Celtic encourages our supporters to support the team positively.
“The club and its supporters are rightly proud of our reputation and we encourage all supporters to help foster this reputation at future fixtures. Zagreb Police advice to supporters is to comply with police advice and stewards at all times and respect the city during your visit.”
The game will kick off at 5:45 pm so that fans will receive special attention after the game. They are encouraged to head directly to their hotels or travel arrangements after the fixture. For Celtic fans going to the stadium, be sure to check out our guide for the Zagreb away section.
UEFA not doing enough to protect fans
At the core of a lot of these issues is how UEFA protects travelling fans. UEFA only cares about fans who do things inside the stadium; if it happens outside, UEFA will turn a blind eye to it.
Were those fans to throw bottles at each other, attack police, etc, UEFA would throw the book at clubs. We get one of these incidents every few rounds in the Champions League, and despite fans being hurt, losing possessions, and causing criminal damage, nothing gets done. You'll get some news posts like this one, clubs releasing statements, and then we all move on, and UEFA keeps doing nothing.
We have clubs' away fans who are known to target away fans in cities before matches; UEFA will know who these clubs are.
Local police also know this and release statements ahead of time for travelling fans, so with all this information at its disposal, why don't UEFA act?
UEFA will continue to do nothing if it happens outside the stadium, leaving it up to the local police to deal with it, while they continue to benefit by looking the other way.