Celtic avoid ban but Rodgers fears pyro use will continue

Celtic lost 4-2 at Villa Park in January

Manager Brendan Rodgers is delighted Celtic have avoided a ban on their supporters for the Champions League play-off second leg at Bayern Munich, but worries fans will not listen to his calls for the use of pyrotechnics to stop.

The club received another disciplinary notice from European football's governing body Uefa after a smoke bomb was thrown on to the pitch during the game at Aston Villa on 29 January.

Celtic had been issued with a two-year suspended ban on selling tickets to away fans following the use of pyrotechnics during their match at Borussia Dortmund in October.

But, while the suspended ban remains in place, a Uefa control, ethics and disciplinary committee decided to impose a €10,000 (£8,400) fine for the throwing of fireworks, with no additional penalty.

When asked if this was the final chance for offenders within the Celtic fanbase to heed warnings and change their behaviour, Rodgers said: "I'm not sure they are going to listen to me, if I'm honest. But let's hope.

"You see it throughout football, this element of ultras. It's not solely Celtic supporters, but my only worry is for Celtic so we can maintain the status that we have.

"I hope we can give that support which the majority of supporters give, which gives us great strength on the pitch, and we can follow the rules and not have any more fines."

Rodgers believes the presence of fans in Munich will provide a boost as Celtic attempt to reach the Champions League last 16 for the first time since 2013.

"The supporters are everything for this club," he added. "What they give to the team is what makes it. To have the support there with us makes a huge difference."

Celtic, who had warned fans about the risk in making travel arrangements for the game in Munich before a judgement was reached, say they "made every effort to ensure that our fans could attend this match and we are pleased that Uefa has considered our detailed submission."

A club statement added 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."

Bayern visit Celtic Park for the first leg of the play-off tie on 12 February with the return in Germany six days later.