Celtic promise Ricksen investigation

Celtic tonight vowed to track down the supporter responsible for hitting Fernando Ricksen with an object during Rangers’ 2-0 Old Firm victory.

The Dutchman had to have a stitch inserted in a wound above his eye after being caught with what is believed to have been a cigarette lighter.

The culprit faces being banned from Celtic Park for life as a supporter was hit with the same punishment for injuring referee Hugh Dallas in a 1999 Old Firm clash.

It is the second ugly incident involving a player being struck by a missile in as many days as Manchester United goalkeeper Roy Carroll required treatment after being wounded by a coin during a FA Cup game at Goodison Park yesterday.

Everton reacted quickly in pledging to find and ban the offender for life but, although Celtic stopped short of announcing the likely punishment, they are keen to find today’s culprit.

A Celtic spokesman told the Press Association: “I can confirm that an object was thrown at the Rangers player and I believe it was a lighter that was thrown.

“We are studying video tapes of the incident to identify the individual. We will act accordingly thereafter but that is ongoing.”

A Police investigation has also been launched, according to match commander chief superintendent Kevin Smith of Strathclyde Police.

He said: “Following the Celtic v Rangers game at Celtic Park today, I can confirm there was a total of 30 arrests in and around the stadium.

“Twelve of these were for offences of religious prejudice, one was for a racist offence and the remaining seventeen were for other minor offences.

“We are aware of a further incident that took place during the second half of today’s game and are continuing enquiries into this, as well as using CCTV footage to assist in identifying those responsible.”

Celtic were fined by the Scottish Football Association following the Dallas incident and the governing body will be under pressure to act in a similar manner following this incident.

But an SFA spokesman insisted the report of referee Mike McCurry, who revealed earlier in the week that angry fans had previously sent him dead rats in the post, was pivotal to any future action.

He said: “We will wait for the referee’s report and act accordingly.”

McCurry was not far from Ricksen when the incident occurred and quickly came over to investigate.

Celtic manager Martin O’Neill had courted controversy earlier in the season by labelling Rangers fans bigots after a defeat at Ibrox that had also seen him march on to the pitch on the final whistle and parade Neil Lennon to the away fans.

Today he was less scathing in his assessment of his own fans’ behaviour.

He said: “Naturally, you wouldn’t want this sort of thing to happen to anybody at all.

“That would be disappointing if anything was thrown at any players. It shouldn’t happen.

“You want the passion and everything else about the game but you don’t want it to get to that stage. You want to keep it within the laws of the game.”

Rangers manager Alex McLeish played down the incident and thought it should not overshadow his side’s victory.

“I don’t want to make a big issue of it,” he said.

“Fernando played extremely well and showed a lot of commitment and bravery, but he has had a stitch inserted in the corner of his brow.

“It’s not an incident unique to Scotland. The crowd was generally well-behaved, but unfortunately sometimes these things happen.

“I saw Luis Figo get hit by a pig’s head a couple of years ago and you don’t want to see these things at a football match.”