Celtic are waiting to see who they face in the Champions League play-off round this month.
The Hoops will play either Slovan Bratislava or Kairat Almaty, with both sides desperate to face Brendan Rodgers and his team on August 20 and 26.
Slovan and Almaty played out the first leg of their third round qualifier last night in Kazakhstan – and it’s safe to say it was a feisty affair.
Almaty won the game 1-0 thanks to Dastan Satpaev’s late penalty, as Slovan played out the final 25 minutes of the encounter with 10 men.
Raging Vladimir Weiss Snr sent off ahead of possible Celtic clash
The awarding of the penalty, however, seriously angered Slovan Bratislava boss Vladimir Weiss Snr, the father of the former Rangers winger.
He stormed onto the pitch and confronted the on-field referee, which prompted the man in the middle to send Weiss Snr off.
His son and ex-Rangers star Vladimir Weiss spoke after the game and addressed his father’s antics that saw him red carded.
Weiss then promised Slovan Bratislava would beat Almaty in the second leg and progress to the play-off round to meet with Celtic.
As quoted in the Daily Record, the 35-year-old said: “He’s a very emotional man (Weiss Snr) and this match meant even more to him because he used to manage Kairat Almaty. Just as I would do anything for this team, so would he.
“He regrets what happened now, but there’s nothing he can do about it now.
“Unfortunately, we will miss him in the home leg, but with the quality on our side and with our excellent fans, we will beat them at a sold-out stadium and win through to play against Celtic.”
Celtic faced Slovan Bratislava last season
Celtic know Slovan Bratislava well, and that should stand them in good stead if they are able to overturn the 1-0 deficit to Almaty.
It was an unforgettable night last season when the Bhoys hammered Slovan 5-1 at Parkhead, in what was the club’s first ever Champions League league phase match.
Given the recent statement win over the Slovakians, Celtic fans will surely prefer playing them instead of Almaty.
Almaty are a slightly more unknown quantity, coupled with the fact Celtic will have to fly around 4,500 miles to play them if indeed they beat Slovan.
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