THE rolls of euro banknotes thrown onto the pitch at the Constant Vanden Stock Stadium 10 nights ago, could not have offered a more vivid symbol for RSC Anderlecht.

It was a stunt by the supporters of Bayern Munich, protesting at paying €100 for a ticket to be in the away end for the Champions League group B match. As the television camera gave a close-up of the “money” being picked up by Anderlecht groundstaff, the commentator said: “Those are not real, of course.”

Supporters of the Belgian champions might wonder if they have been the victims of their own elaborate sting. They began the season with high hopes, having won the double under coach, Rene Weiler, but the Swiss was jettisoned just before the first meeting with Celtic, in September, and now most of Weiler’s signings look set to follow in January once Anderlecht adjust to life without European football.

The Belgian media have already written off eight players, who will be off-loaded if they fail to overturn the 3-0 defeat by Celtic and miss out on the Europa League parachute. Hein Vanhaezebrouck, the new Anderlecht manager, sees no place for Nicolae Stanciu, Robert Beric, Hamdi Harbaoui, Lukasz Teodorcyzk, Alexandriu Chipciu, Emmanuel Sowah, Massimo Bruno and Ivan Obradovic.

If the euros of Bayern’s ultras were undoubtedly fake, Anderlecht fans feel the same can be said of Stanciu and Teodorcyzk. The pair have failed to live up to their expensive price tags.

Romanian midfielder Stanciu was signed from Steaua Bucharest for €10 million but they may struggle to get half that for someone who does not command a place, while Polish striker Teodorcyzk – who was poor against Celtic – cost €4.5m from Dynamo Kiev.

However, it is not just on the pitch that Anderlecht are facing radical change. Off it too, as they try to find a buyer after chairman Roger Vanden Stock revealed he wanted to call it a day, now he is 75.

The board met on Thursday at the stadium which bears Vanden Stock’s father’s name. He wanted the sale finished at the end of the season but a leak forced his plans out into the open and the board released a statement saying they wanted to meet interested buyers and conclude a sale before the end of 2017.

Belgian newspapers claim there are four bidders. Local Paul Ghyesens and Russian millionaire Alisher Usmanov (who is an Arsenal investor) and two unknown parties. Gheysens, the ceo of a Belgian construction company, has made a verbal offer of €100m to buy Anderlecht , and responded to the board’s new move by saying he will sue the club for millions of euros if the takeover does not happen.

Vanhaezebrouck’s fresh Anderlecht chapter took a dreadful plot twist last Wednesday when his side saw their reign as Belgian Cup holders ended by bitter rivals Standard Liege, who won 1-0 in Brussels. During the game play had to be stopped as Anderlecht fans pelted Standard’s players and manager Ricardo Sa Pinto with beer glasses.

The sight of beer glasses on the Constant Vanden Stock turf, was a different type of protest to the Bayern ultras just a week earlier. Then the Germans, in perfect English, had banners which read:“100 euros? Is your greed now finally satisfied?”

The Anderlecht fans produced a piece of larceny of their own in that same visiting section in the Brussels stadium, when Standard were in town. Some 500 Anderlecht ultras left their own end and went to confront Standard fans and steal their flag and megaphone.

Celtic will hope there are no such issues on Tuesday. Merely that the Scottish champions can end Anderlecht’s European season and earn a Europa League dividend.