CELTIC’S Champions League opponents have been warned by police not to sacrifice a sheep before tonight’s crucial match.
Shakhter Karagandy outraged animal rights campaigners last week when their manager Viktor Kumykov admitted slaughtering an animal in their stadium the day before the sides met in the first leg.
But yesterday Kumykov claimed the Kazakh team would perform the barbaric ritual before the play-off second-leg tie in Glasgow.
The chain-smoking Russian said: “Every club has their own pre-match traditions and rituals. Celtic must have their own.
“All I can say is that we will try to respect our traditions. These traditions have been in place even before we came to the club.”
Asked if the ritual would take place, he replied: "Possibly, yes.
"Certain traditions can have a psychological effect on players and help them to relax before the game.”
It didn’t get better for coach Neil Lennon after the game – though he did pen a contract extension the day after – with a comeback 2-2 draw against Inverness in the Scottish Premiership exposing their defensive frailties. That said, Celtic have a good record of overturning deficits at home when it comes to European competition. Celtic Park has become their fortress, and all-but-christened as such thanks to last November’s historic 2-1 win over Barcelona.
Celtic were unbeaten in the 2012/13 qualifiers, but now face a challenge if they are to prove the last campaign was not a fluke. “The tie is far from over”, as far as Lennon is concerned, but with plenty of niggles around camp, it’s anyone’s guess if the Bhoys can turn things around.
Time To Park The Bus?
Whether it was the ritualistic animal sacrifice or their underdog status, something gave Shakhter Karagandy two huge slices of fortune against Celtic. The visitors switched off at the back to concede the first off a long throw from Gediminas Vicius, who then saw his wild shot reach Sergey Khizhnichenko at a comfortable height for 2-0.
Coincidentally, Shakhter were also held to a draw immediately after their first-leg game, and the second-leg is arguably at a bad time given that they are five points off the pace in the home stretch of their domestic league. Still, the chance to play in their first ever Champions League group stage is a worthy cause; especially after pulling off a surprise win over BATE Borisov in the second qualifying round.
