Celtic’s Leigh Griffiths made headlines for the wrong reasons in Belfast.
Davie Hay has told The Glasgow Evening Times he is certain that Celtic hitman Leigh Griffiths received a talking-to by manager Brendan Rodgers after his Belfast antics.
The 26-year-old was slapped with a one-match European ban by UEFA for tying a Celtic scarf to a goal post after a Champions League victory at Linfield earlier this month.
He had been pelted with coins and glass bottles from fans of the Northern Irish club – who are traditionally from a protestant background – and then booked for removing the missiles.
As a consequence, Griffiths, who has scored over 50 goals for the Hoops over the last two seasons, will sit out the first leg of their Champions League tie with Rosenborg next week as Rodgers’s side look to move within one step of a group-stage spot.
And Hay, who managed the Bhoys for four years in the 1980s, says that the Northern Irish boss will have certainly delivered a private message to the striker about his behaviour.
“I can guarantee you that there will have been a few words said privately. Behind closed doors there will have been a message delivered quite clearly,” he told The GET.
“I certainly hope so, because it is something that has to be said.
“Before anyone starts, let’s not condone anyone who throws a bottle, or coins, or cups or whatever. But tying a scarf around a post is not becoming of a Celtic player, quite frankly.”
Celtic were also fined £4,000 by UEFA for the incident.
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