Celtic continue to move in the right direction under Ange Postecoglou in Europe. We witnessed the improvements he has brought since he strolled up Paradise way. He has built a squad who should now be ready for challenges at home and away in Europe’s Elite competition. .
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In Warsaw we could have been 4 goals up in the first 5 minutes such was the blistering start. Once again Hatate was the toast of every Celtic fan but they caught us on the break to equalise in a game we dominated for long periods and the opinion of the fans I travelled back with from the Polish city is that we left 2 points behind.
The Celtic fans were in full voice inside the stadium that night from well before kick off. Celtic supporters were shipped to the stadium on 100 seater shuttle buses from the old town. The walk up to the turnstiles was similar to Leverkusen along a wooded area.
There was a massive Police presence throughout our stay in Warsaw. There were reports of Legia fans attacking Celtic fans on the night before the game in chat groups but I witnessed nothing from the comfort of a Polish bar watching Bayern v Barca.
The old town square was busy all day before the game as fans enjoyed the nice weather, cheap beer and the local cuisine under the watchful eye of the Police before leaving for the stadium.
Once off the buses some Celtic fans were fined on the spot for drinking with some getting handcuffed and put in the back of a Paddy Wagon which was hidden behind the very large water cannon but visible from inside the stadium in the concourse area where fans enjoyed the 3.2% beer and hotdogs before kick off.
Stewards were non existent once inside the turnstiles where everyone was frisked and had their ID checked and tickets scanned. So you could sit where ever you wanted and there was also an area next to the Celtic away support with a large number of Celtic fans mixed in with fans of the Ukrainians.
The atmosphere was brilliant and the team were backed from the warm up till they left the field of play by our very vocal support who made their feelings clear about the British monarchy. Joining Bayern Munich Fans in displaying banner the night before and AEL Limassol also let their thoughts be known on the monarchy.
The problems only started for fans trying to leave the stadium when they found all the exit gates locked for at least an hour. Caged into a small area with day trippers trying to get to the airport for the club charter, children and disabled people including Rory who is deaf frustration was growing.
Riot Police lined up on the other side of the gates including ones with gas canisters at the ready. The longer the gates were locked the more frustration was felt with one of two fans arguing with each other but over all the fans should be congratulated for their behaviour while being treated like animals.
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The treatment continued once the gates were finally opened and the use of shields and police horses were used to make it almost impossible to get to the buses with the only exit being a small gap between the Riot Police in an area that was very badly lit.
Once finally back in the packed buses we were brought back to the old town we could finally get back to feeling like a normal person. Would any other sports fans be treated like this? I hope not.
I expect better organisation from the German Police in Leipzig and I don’t expect to be held in the stadium after the final whistle if memory serves me, I don’t recall ever being held back at full time in Germany.
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Andrew Milne is Editor of More than 90 Minutes Celtic Fanzine which he started in 2001. He has been involved with fanzines since 1989 and has written for numerous publications and online about Celtic.He is a former newspaper columnist with the Daily Ireland and the man behind celticfanzine.com.He is host of the Celtic Soul Podcast, Talk form the Terrace Podcast, Grand Auld History Podcast on Celtic Fanzine TV.He has hosted the live show Celtic AM in Thailand, USA, Ireland and Scotland and follows Celtic Home & Away.He is the man behind the Thailand Celtic Supporters Festival and the official merchandise designer and supplier for the NAFCSC Las Vegas Convention.He is a season ticket holder for Celtic FC and the Republic of Ireland. He is also P.R.O. of St. Margaret’s CSC, a member of the Celtic Trust and the Celtic Graves Association.
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