Neil Lennon warns Celtic fans that club will not tolerate bad behaviour
St Mirren boss Oran Kearney admits he debated taking his players off the pitch after the missile was thrown - while the SPFL said on Thursday that they condemn the "totally irresponsible behaviour".
Thursday 4 April 2019 14:53, UK
Celtic manager Neil Lennon has warned fans the club will not tolerate behaviour which saw a firecracker thrown onto the pitch during their match at St Mirren.
A firecracker was thrown from the away fans in the first half of Celtic's 2-0 win which landed yards away from St Mirren goalkeeper Vaclav Hladky.
The noise visibly shook some of Celtic's players, including Ryan Christie.
Lennon said: "It serves no purpose in a football ground. The health and safety of the players is paramount. The St Mirren goalkeeper and some of our players got a huge fright from that.
"From the club's point of view we just don't want them in the ground and it puts a delay in the game which we don't really need."
St Mirren manager Oran Kearney says he was tempted to remove his players from the pitch after the incident.
He said: "I had a brief chat with [Hladky] but we're just thankful that it wasn't more sinister. I was standing 50-60 yards away and it made me jump, so I dread to think how loud it would have been for him.
"You're tempted to walk your team off the pitch."
An SPFL spokesman on Thursday added: "Items such as such as fireworks and firecrackers are absolutely forbidden and we utterly condemn such totally irresponsible behaviour.
"We await the match delegate's report however we would urge any fans with information about this incident to contact police to help stamp out such criminal activity."
The result moved Celtic another step closer to the Scottish Premiership title, with Lennon's side next in action at home to Livingston on Saturday.
