Wednesday 12 July 2017 19:53, UK
Celtic say they are "extremely surprised" police have moved to publicly distance themselves from the club's decision to prevent fans buying tickets for Friday's Champions League clash against Linfield in Belfast.
The club last month revealed no tickets would be made available to their fans for their first-leg fixture against the Irish League champions, which was moved back to avoid clashing with the height of the Belfast's marching season on July 12.
Celtic stressed the decision was made to ensure the safety and security of all Hoops supporters travelling and attending matches.
The news came after the draw was made for the second qualifying round, which sees two clubs traditionally associated with opposite sides of the political and religious divide in Northern Ireland come up against each other in football's most prestigious tournament.
With the tie two days away, the Police Service of Northern Ireland issued a statement which caused surprise at Celtic Park.
A brief statement on the force's Twitter account read: "Contrary to some reports, the decision of Celtic FC not to accept their allocation of 'away' tickets for the game against Linfield in Belfast was a decision taken solely by the football club and was not made by PSNI."
Replying to the force's comments, the Scottish Premiership champions tweeted: "We are extremely surprised by this statement and the timing of the release.
"This is clearly not our understanding of the situation and we stand by our statement of 23rd June.
"We feel there is nothing to be gained by commenting further until the tie has been played."
