GOOD NEWS: CELTIC CHAMPIONS LEAGUE SEEDING CONFIRMED
- BY LIAM CARRIGAN
- 1 day ago
- 3 min read
It’s been a rough few days for followers of all things Celtic, but we finally have a little good news to share, and it comes from Croatia of all places.
The Balkan nation had its own “Helicopter Sunday” equivalent as unfancied Rijelka emerged as champions by the slimmest of margins.
Their 2-0 win on the final day of the league saw them draw level on points and goal difference with last season’s Celtic Champions League opponents Dynamo Zagreb.
However, on account of better head-to-head results (The Croatian League was close enough that derby results still mattered) Rijelka clinched the title.
Rijelka Title Win Guarantees Celtic Champions League Seeding
This result had the knock-on effect of bumping up Celtic’s Champions League ranking, ensuring that we will be among the seeded teams for the final play off round in August.
This doesn’t by any means ensure an easy pathway into the expanded group stage for Celtic, however it does ensure that we avoid some of the harder teams in the play-off round.
Bodo/Glimt from Norway, a name we’ll remember from a few years ago, are also seeded. Assuming they navigate the preliminary rounds, Red Star Belgrade,or Crvena Zvezda, as they are known these days, FC Copenhagen and Ferencvaros will all join Celtic in the seeded side of the draw.
So far, Celtic’s list of potential opponents is vast since the majority of teams still have to get through preliminary rounds before the play-off. So far only 2 unseeded teams have been confirmed, Sturm Graz of Austria, and Swiss side FC Basel.
Both of these sides would be considered “tough, but winnable” as far as Celtic are concerned.
It’s a bit early to speculate but other possible opponents include Qarabag FK from Azerbaijan, who Celtic famously overcame in dramatic fashion in a few years ago thanks to the most decorated player in our history James Forrest.
Another potentially tricky tie is Slovan Bratislava. Yes, Celtic took five off them in the Champions League last season, however Slovan are a better team than that result suggested. They are not to be underestimated.
The one that I personally hope we avoid, though not for footballing reasons, is Israeli champions Maccabi Tel Aviv.
Firstly, the away game would have to be played at a neutral venue (not ideal for either team or their supporters) and I expect the press would do all they can to whip up as much vitriolic hatred between both sets of supporters ahead of the tie.
I’ll just reiterate once more, for the willfully ignorant and the hard of thinking, that being Pro-Palestine does not make one antisemitic, no matter how hard the Israeli government or their stooges in the media try to push that narrative. Not all Celtic fans care about the Palestinian's plight but many of us do and we are not afraid to say so.
Maccabi Tel Aviv are not quite at the level of Beitar Jerusalem, arguably one of the world’s most racist football clubs, in their far-right politics and hooliganism, but in terms of Islamophobia, they are a strong second place to Beitar.
Some may look at all this and say “bring it on!” these are the kinds of people that Celtic were formed to stand up against. However, I see it as a no-win situation for Celtic. We’d comfortably win the footballing contest. However, the media would make absolutely sure our fans were vilified regardless.
We can do without all that.
As I said though, there are still three qualifying rounds to be played before Celtic even come into the equation.
It’s very possible we might end up playing none of the teams mentioned above. There’s always a surprise or two in those early stages.
Right now, we’ll just have to wait and see.
