Alan Brazil: UEFA’s list of fines is just plain bonkers

CLEAR and consistent– those should be UEFA’s watchwords when it comes to imposing discipline.

Unfortunately, the idiots in charge seem to prefer their punishments to be baffling and arbitrary.

Let’s look at Celtic’s Champions League win over Linfield.

UEFA had a few things to deal with after the dust settled.

In the first leg, there were objects – including a glass bottle – thrown at Leigh Griffiths and a “pitch incursion” at full-time.

Griffiths’ crazy decision to tie a Celtic scarf to the Windsor Park goalposts was also fully deserving of attention.

In the return fixture at Celtic Park, the “illicit” banners displayed by a section of the home support – and obviously designed to incite visiting Linfield fans – were disgraceful, and rightly picked up on.

Both clubs – and Griffiths – were correctly cited for their respective transgressions.

But then UEFA couldn’t help but muddy the waters.

The fine Celtic were hit with for “improper conduct”, after five players were booked in the first leg, was silly at best.

The charge concerning “blocked stairways” in the second leg at Parkhead was similarly daft.

But the “kit infringement” charge – relating to a visible sponsor on Celtic’s training bibs – was absolutely pathetic.

Taken together, these stupid, nit-picking citations look like a blatant attempt at profiteering by UEFA – and they undermine the whole disciplinary process.

It isn’t just Celtic who have suffered.

Rangers were hit with a £6200 fine after objects were thrown on to the pitch during their Europa League clash with Progres Niederkorn at Ibrox.

What were those objects? Bits of screwed- up paper!

Let’s not kid ourselves on, the charges relating to fan behaviour are genuinely worthy of attention.

The Linfield fans who threw missiles at Windsor Park were out of order and the club were fined £10,000 and had the area of the ground that housed the offenders closed for their next UEFA match.

At Celtic Park, the “paramilitary” banners in the Green Brigade section of the ground were like something from a bygone era.

I genuinely thought we’d left that sort of stuff behind, but apparently I was wrong.

But by bracketing serious problems like those in with nonsense about training bibs, UEFA are making themselves look pitiful.

From a Celtic point of view, the club has been given a headache by the Green Brigade – and not for the first time.

Nobody can deny they provide a fantastic atmosphere at Parkhead and nobody can deny their support for the club.

But I fear we’re getting a dangerously close to a point where UEFA could slap a closed-doors policy on Celtic in future European ties.

That must be avoided at all costs, and Celtic’s decision to grab the bull by the horns and close the Green Brigade section for two games seems designed to curry favour with UEFA, as much as making a stance against a recurring problem.

The Bhoys were right to issue a statement condemning Wednesday night’s banners – and correct to launch a probe into how they came to be displayed.

But as far as those other charges are concerned, I’d love to see Celtic telling UEFA to shove it.