Celtic fans threaten to boycott over SFA appeals

CELTIC supporters have made a veiled threat to boycott away games in protest against the Scottish Football Association.

The Scottish Professional Footballers' Association wants changes to the SFA's disciplinary appeals system, which sees match officials review their original decision before deciding whether a claim for wrongful dismissal should go to a review panel.

Those calls were backed by Celtic but SFA chief executive Gordon Smith claimed removing referees from the process would contravene Fifa rules – claims which were later questioned by Scottish Premier League chief executive Neil Doncaster.

A group of Celtic fans, including the Celtic Supporters Association and Celtic Trust, have demanded a change to the rules.

A statement read: "He (Gordon Smith) informed us that the rules of Fifa state the referee's word is final – absolute nonsense. Nowhere in Fifa rules does it state that, if it did then the English Premier League would be breaking the rules. What is needed in Scotland is a complete overhaul of the rules and regulations.

"We are not asking for special treatment for Celtic, we are demanding rules that are transparent, rules that take away from the referee having the one and only say when reviewing any incident.

"Most importantly there must be accountability, like in any other walk of life. If someone continues to get it wrong they must be removed from their position.

"What are we doing about it? Today we have sent a proposal to Celtic's chief executive Peter Lawwell. It sends a message that the Celtic support has lost all confidence in the SFA to deal impartially and with total honesty.

"And, while we wouldn't think of doing anything which would affect Celtic financially, the same cannot be said of the other clubs. So be warned."