Ange Postecoglou on potential UEFA 'ramifications' as Celtic boss issues supporter plea

Ange Postecoglou has called on Celtic supporters to respect a minute’s applause in memory of the Queen before Sunday’s game against St Mirren.

The planned tribute, which will take place prior to kick-off in Paisley, comes days after Celtic became the subject of UEFA disciplinary proceedings after supporters displayed an anti-Crown banner during Wednesday’s Champions League draw against Shakhtar Donetsk.

One banner among Celtic supporters in Warsaw declared ‘F*** the Crown’ while another read ‘Sorry for your loss Michael Fagan’, a reference to the intruder who broke into the Queen’s Buckingham Palace bedroom in 1982.

When asked if he had a message for supporters ahead of Sunday’s planned tribute, Postecoglou said: “I have the same message to our fans that we always have. As I said before the game (against Shakhtar), we will abide by the protocols. We wore black armbands on Wednesday night.

“I think there’s a minute’s applause, we will abide by whatever obligations and responsibilities we have as a football club. We will do that in a respectful manner. We want our supporters to do the same.”

The former Australia head coach later addressed the UEFA investigation during an interview with Sky Sports News.

“If it’s proven that we did the wrong thing and there are ramifications, we’ve got to accept those ramifications,” he said.

“We have those responsibilities as a football club. We represent a large supporter base worldwide and we want to do things in the most respectful way that portrays our football club in the right light.

Celtic manager Ange Postecoglou takes a training session ahead of the trip to St Mirren on Sunday. (Photo by Alan Harvey / SNS Group)

“Look, my own thing is that in everything you do, you should be allowed to express whatever opinion or feeling you have. My preference is that you do that in a respectful way and that’s what I think our football club has done.”

In his club media conference, Postecoglou dismissed a suggestion that the banners had overshadowed Celtic’s performance against Shakhtar.

"Depends on what you are reading or listening to," he replied.

“My focus is on us as a football club and the performance was really strong at the highest level of competition.

Fans of Celtic display a flag against the crown during the midweek Champions League match against Shakhtar Donetsk in Warsaw. (Photo by Adam Nurkiewicz/Getty Images)

"We’ve still got some growth to do as a football team in terms of playing at that level on a consistent basis. I was encouraged by our progress but also know that we need to keep improving in those areas.

“We’ll keep representing our football club in the best possible way.”

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