Celtic’s Mid-Eighties Watershed – Celtic v Atletico Madrid, 1985

Most observers reckoned Celtic could expect two years, with anything less being regarded as charitable. This was based on the reasoning that Celtic had twice failed to control the behaviour of their support- first at Celtic Park with the bottle throwing incident, and then at Old Trafford when two Rapid players had been viciously assaulted on the pitch

Celtic had to wait FIVE WEEKS for UEFA’s judgement. Incredibly, the punishment surprised everyone. Celtic were fined £17 000 and forced to play their next home European tie behind closed doors. Why were UEFA so comparatively lenient?

The Glory and the Dream

In The Glory and the Dream, Tom Campbell and Pat Woods argue that there existed within UEFA a reservoir of official goodwill towards Celtic. They also suggest, however, that UEFA may have made a “belated recognition that their own mishandling of the affair had contributed heavily to the ultimate debacle at Manchester”.

One match behind closed doors was bad enough, meaning a substantial loss of potential gate receipts and playing without the backing of a large, passionate support. The situation was compounded when Celtic were drawn against old foes Atletico Madrid in the First Round of the European Cup Winners Cup in 1985. Defeating the Spanish Cup holders would have been difficult enough in front of a packed Celtic Park. It would be even more challenging to do so in front of an empty stadium.

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