There is history between Rapid Vienna and Celtic but it is time to look forward rather than backward.

Celtic meet Rapid Vienna in the Europa League next week and former rapid defender Rudi Weinhofer says it is time to move on from their infamous encounter 25 years ago. Weinhofer was at the centre of the controversy when the sides were drawn together in the 1984/85 European Cup Winners' Cup. Celtic had lost the away leg 3-1 but were 3-0 up and cruising at home into the next round when the game descended into mayhem. Weinhofer fell to the ground apparently claiming to have been hit by a bottle thrown from the terraces. After an appeal by Rapid, UEFA ordered a third game to be played at Old Trafford and the only goal of the game was scored by current Vienna manager Peter Pacult.

Weinhofer said: "Everyone spoke about the bottle because that's all they saw on the TV screen, but I never claimed to have been hit by a bottle. I was hit by a coin thrown from the crowd. The game was stopped and we won the replay 1-0, fair and square. So what was all the fuss about? We went through 4-1 on aggregate, it's not like it was away goals. Naturally, I can understand that Celtic players and fans were disappointed to lose an important game. But the replay was in Manchester, which is very close to Glasgow, so it was still an away game for us. I really think it's time we all got over it and moved on."
Editor
Ger Harley (ger@scottishfitba net)

Admin Team (admin@scottishfitba net)

This is ScottishFitba Net