UEFA is investigating claims by Dutch giants Ajax that it was given controversial advice on sectarianism by Scottish football bosses.
The report by the game's European governing body alleges the Scottish FA told Ajax terms such as 'Fenian' and 'Orange' were viewed as a "badge of honour" by half of Old Firm fans and it did not warn clubs about the use of such discriminatory language.
The claims emerged in the findings of disciplinary action taken against Ajax after its fans displayed a banner with the words ‘Fenian B*******’ when it last played Celtic in Amsterdam nearly two years ago.
But, days before the Dutch side again take on Celtic in the Netherlands, the SFA has vigorously denied it offered Ajax any advice on the matter and was seeking answers from UEFA as to why the submission was included.
A UEFA spokeswoman told The Herald: "We are aware of this case. We are currently in touch with the SFA and Ajax to check this situation. That is ongoing.
"There is no information at this stage on whether a case will be opened on the matter or not so we can't comment any further on our side."
Ajax said that it had contacted the SFA "regarding that certain banner" but said it would not comment further on an incident from 2013, especially with a game against Celtic so close on the horizon.
The UEFA report criticised its Scottish counterparts as "reckless" amid claims allegedly passed on to Ajax officials that it viewed sectarian terms as part of the national game.
One SFA senior source said it was "deeply unhappy" Ajax had made the claim and "disappointed" Uefa did not check the comments with Glasgow.
Ajax were fined £25,000 for the banner and ordered to close part of their stadium during a European game as punishment.
Uefa claimed that when preparing its defence over the use of the term 'Fenian' by its fans, Ajax had been told by the SFA's disciplinary services manager that half the Celtic support used the word "as a badge of honour while the other half might consider it unpleasant".
It added: "The Scottish FA did not consider the word 'Fenian' racist. It neither warned nor punished Celtic FC or Rangers FC for calling each other 'Orange B*******' and “Fenian B*******” respectively, since it considered such provocative words part of the game."
It continues: "The fact that the Scottish FA, for its own internal reasons, does not consider references to 'Fenian B*******' as an offence cannot prevent the Uefa disciplinary bodies from punishing such behaviour, since they are independent bodies.
"This argument, which therefore is clearly unfounded and even reckless, does not merit a more detailed assessment."
But while the SFA has confirmed it was approached by Ajax to provide a statement as part of their case, it has insisted none was provided.
A spokeswoman said: "The club was advised, in writing, that we would not provide any such statement. For the avoidance of doubt, the Scottish FA did not present the information outlined in the submissions and we are seeking clarification on this matter from Uefa."
A senior source added: "Even if such a banner was displayed at a Scottish ground it would be a matter for the SPFL. "Uefa operates strict liability. We don't. We agree with it but its our members who decide."
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel