Pyro has been a big issue in football for a long time now, with the governing bodies unwilling to adapt or even have dialogue with supporters about the use of them at football grounds.
It’s not just a Celtic issue, and if you look down the UEFA wrap sheet this season, there’s many club’s who fall foul of the rules when it comes to pyro.
We’ve seen in grounds across Europe it can add something a bit different and heighten the atmosphere. If we just look at the Celtic Muhammad Ali banner in a vacuum, there’s no doubt the visual of the pyrotechnic’s going off underneath the banner takes the display to a different level.
With the level of fine and sanctions, it can bring down the road – displays like this are discouraged and unsustainable.
The health and safety of every fan in the ground is paramount, it goes without saying. However, is there a way to have our cake and eat it?
One of the ways Danish football have tried to beat the ban and provide a safe experience with the colour still intact is to introduce ‘cold pyro’
Emitting very little, if any heat. The device has been developed to be a safe alternative to regular pyro which can overheat and be dangerous in the wrong hands.
This is just one option the club and support could take going forward but we fear there will be nothing but a standoff between the supporters and the club with no room for dialogue.
If we can’t have sensible talks about how to go forward and it’s a ‘my way or the highway’ scenario then it’s only going to create ill-feeling.
We’re on the brink of making European history on Thursday if we top our group and get more than ten points on the board. We should be talking about that, not a ban for some of our supporters.
Dialog has been ongoing for 2 years, problem being green brigade are not listening.