Celtic manager Gordon Strachan has defended Bobo Balde following his leg-breaking challenge on Leicester’s James Wesolowski, insisting what happened was an accident.

Jozef Venglos today warned Celtic of the threat his former club face in Bratislava next week.

Leicester manager Craig Levein has labelled Bobo Balde’s tackle which broke teenager James Wesolowski’s leg “disgraceful, disgusting and malicious”.

Celtic will face Artmedia Bratislava in the Champions League second qualifying round after the Slovakians came from behind to defeat Kazakhstan’s Kairat Almaty.

The heat of eastern Kazakhstan proved too much for Artmedia Bratislava as Kairat Almaty eased their way to a 2-0 victory in the first leg of their Champions League first qualifying round tie – with the winners facing Celtic.

LIVERPOOL will be praying for a total solution to their Champions League headache when the draw is made for the first two qualifying rounds of the competition today.

Shamrock Rovers were handed an away first leg tie against Swedish club Djurgardens following the draw for the UEFA Cup qualifying round in Geneva today.