SPFL appeals for witnesses after Engels hit by coin

Arne Engels (centre) was hit by a coin late in the Old Firm derby at Ibrox

The Scottish Professional Football League has appealed for fans to contact Police Scotland with information that will help with the arrest of whoever threw a coin that struck Celtic midfielder Arne Engels during Thursday's Old Firm derby away to Rangers.

The governing body has joined the two Glasgow clubs in condemning the incident at Thursday's game between the top two sides in the Scottish Premiership.

"This behaviour is completely unacceptable, and we fully support any steps taken to identify those responsible for such idiotic, criminal acts," an SPFL statement said.

"The dangers of so-called supporters throwing such items on to the pitch are obvious and anyone found guilty of such disgraceful conduct must be dealt with severely by the courts, including the imposition of football banning orders.

"We await the match delegate's report and we would urge any fans with relevant information to contact Police Scotland."

Rangers had condemned "in the strongest possible terms" the incident in which substitute Engels fell to the ground and needed treatment after being hit when going to take a corner towards the end of Rangers' 3-0 win.

There were no Celtic fans inside Ibrox because of the ongoing dispute about away ticket allocations and Rangers said they will assist police with their investigation.

Celtic said they believe the police are investigating two separate incidents.

"The repeated targeting of our players and staff with missiles is quite appalling and completely unacceptable," they said.

Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers confirmed that Engels was "OK" but added that "an inch lower, he would have been [hit] right in the eye".

The incident came near the conclusion of a derby that cut Celtic's lead at the top of the Premiership to 11 points and could leave Rangers facing punishment.

Celtic right-back Alistair Johnston saw Engels being hit and cautioned "everyone to be smart" when at matches.

"It's humans out there, someone's son, so let's refrain from chucking things at guys' heads," the Canadian added.