Celtic must resist any move to give up home advantage for the second leg of their likely Champions League tie with Linfield.
The first leg is scheduled for July 11 or 12 and if the Belfast side can’t cope with that they can withdraw from the competition.
Whatever the external factors are Linfield have complete control of tickets for the match and can work out whatever deal they wish with Police Service Northern Ireland.
If a bank holiday to celebrate intolerance of Catholics rules out July 12 for the home leg they can’t go to Celtic looking for a switch.
The game can go ahead as planned on July 11. If there is a concern that their own supporters- the people they sell tickets to- can’t contain their hatred for Celtic then they need to play in front of a restricted crowd. Perhaps last season’s Season Ticket holders can be trusted with four tickets each.
Celtic work closely with Police Scotland and pick up the bill for whatever measures are needed to ensure safety at home matches.
If Linfield want to mix it with the big clubs they can start acting like one. If they want to cash in on live television coverage and an 18,000 sell out crowd they can pay the costs associated.
If they can’t control and contain the hatred of fans inside their stadium they should take off the RESPECT patch that they wear on their strips for European matches.
Celtic will almost certainly turn down a ticket allocation for the match at Windsor Park. It’s not a decision to take lightly but the club can’t encourage fans to go to the match when there is a huge question mark over the safety of fans going to and from the match.
La Fiorita of San Marino could kill the argument stone dead but the reality is that Celtic are almost certain to be playing Linfield in the week of Orange celebrations- if the Belfast side want the benefits of playing big clubs they need to ensure that they can act that way.
