UEFA investigation expected after troubling footage emerges before Celtic vs Utrecht – ex-Fifa official
Celtic enjoyed a successful night of Europa League action on Thursday as they overcame Utrecht 4-2 to reach the playoff stage.
The game was all but over less than 20 minutes in as they cruised to a 3-0 lead.
While their Dutch opponents did reduce the deficit, they were unable to get themselves back into the game as Martin O’Neill guided Celtic to another valuable win in Europe.
However, for many fans, the night was far from ideal, with crowd trouble before the game overshadowing the win for the Hoops.
Keith Hackett: UEFA to investigate Celtic vs Utrecht fan trouble
According to The Scottish Sun on 29 January, before Celtic’s match against Utrecht, many fans of the two teams collided with each other.
This saw fireworks fired at Celtic fans outside the building, which sent groups of fans scattering. However, it isn’t clear if anyone was hit by one.
Reading the report, Keith Hackett was appalled and called on UEFA to open an investigation into the matter.
🤓📊 Tonight is the earliest we have netted three in Europe since Martin O’Neill’s first European night at Celtic Park, back in 2000!#CelticUtrecht | #UEL | #CelticFC🍀 pic.twitter.com/bClmVckODj
— Celtic Football Club (@CelticFC) January 29, 2026
He exclusively told Football Insider: “Well, the first aspect of this is what action have the police taken to arrest fans under public disorder acts.
“These actions damage the image of our great game, and an investigation needs to take place to determine how these flares were purchased and how they got into the country.
“The UEFA Match Delegate at the game will no doubt report the incidents to
UEFA Executive who will then determine the course of action to be taken.
“They have a record of taking strong action on these matters, imposing stadium bans, fines etc.
“We await the outcome of an investigation.”
Europa League continues to be plagued by crowd trouble
While Celtic’s fans have been slammed for their protests against the board, that is not nearly as bad as what happened on Thursday.
In Europe, unfortunately, crowd trouble has become a common occurrence in recent weeks.
Only last week, the game between Nice and Go Ahead Eagles witnessed crowd trouble, with the French side’s fans attempting to get at the visiting fans.
With the league stage now over, it remains to be seen if UEFA can get this under control going into the knock-out stages.
If not, it could continue to overshadow the tournament as the final at Besiktas Stadium edges ever closer.