O'Neill escapes UEFA rap

There was a major pre-season boost for Celtic manager Martin O’Neill today when he escaped punishment for his angry outburst following the controversial UEFA Cup final defeat to FC Porto in May.

The outspoken Northern Irishman was incensed by the play-acting of some of the Porto players and the appointment and display of referee Lubos Michel after his side went down 3-2 in Seville.

After a number of run-ins with UEFA, O’Neill must have feared the worst, but, after considering the criticism at a hearing today, the European governing body decided no action was necessary.

A spokesman for UEFA told the Press Association: “No disciplinary case has been or will be opened against Mr Martin O’Neill further to his comments and that is the end of the matter.”

The Celtic boss has been banned from the dugout on two separate occasions in Europe in the past two seasons.

He was annoyed when Michel failed to take action against apparent time-wasting by the Portuguese side but the Slovakian referee made no mention of the comments in his report.

O’Neill will now be in the dugout against either HB Torshavn or Kaunas in the second qualifying round of the Champions League.