Brendan Rodgers says that fans using pyrotechnics are at risk of causing injuries to both players and fans, as the Celtic manager responded to an SPFL charge handed out to the club today.
Rodgers said the SPFL were right to take action against supporters who use pyrotechnics, after Celtic, Motherwell and Rangers were informed of a possible SPFL sanction over the conduct of their fans in the League Cup semi finals at Hampden last month.
And he says that as well as the danger pyro poses to those in the stands, the long delays we saw at both of those matches puts the players at risk too.
“My reaction is exactly the same as what it is when I see it at any other ground or any team," Rodgers said.
"The safety is of paramount importance, I think, for firstly the people down the stand.
“I always worry about people that are in and around that area when they're going off. When you're young, sometimes you don't see the dangers, you don't see or think of other people, but that's a concern for me, for supporters, especially our own supporters when they're there.
“And then my concern is also within the players, because when you're preparing for a game of football, it's detailed, your preparation is to the second, so that you're ready and ready to go whenever the kick-off is ready to start.
“And I think we were 14 minutes delay in that semi-final. That can be the cause of someone getting injured, especially when it's at this time of the year. You prepare, your detail's there, you go to start the game but you can't. You're standing about, you're waiting, so all that preparation that you put in, the body's cold again and the muscles are at risk.
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“So these are the little things that maybe you would never think about when you're holding the flare or sticking something up in the air. But I just think that the safety element of it for supporters and players is a paramount. So it's not just Celtic, the message and notion is for every club.”
The SPFL have long resisted calls for strict liability to be introduced into Scottish football, but Rodgers wasn't shocked to see the club being cited for punishment.
“It's not a surprise, I just think it's something that should be done," he said.
"I don't see what it adds to the game, so I think it's right that they look into it and try to stop it hopefully.
“I suppose the hope is that this may be the first but hopefully the last when it comes to the league as well and the fans do listen.
“I think across the board the league have the possibility then to create a sanction that ensures that hopefully it doesn't happen. Because the Celtic support, what we get without all of that is absolutely amazing.
"The colour, the noise, the energy, what it gives us on the field is absolutely amazing. So the pyro doesn't add anything, it doesn't add anything. We get this amazing support, it's renowned worldwide, our support base is iconic.
"Everyone wants to play at Celtic Park, everyone wants to be here, why? Because of the supporters, so we want to keep it that way and hopefully, as I said, the league domestically can do something as well."
