EUROPEAN football’s governing body is to monitor the behaviour of Celtic fans during the club’s Champions League match against Manchester United this week, following complaints of sectarian singing.

Last season the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) fined Rangers £13,300 after its fans chanted bigoted songs during two Champions League games against the Spanish club Villareal.

Later David Murray, the Rangers chairman, pledged to eradicate bigotry among a minority of the club’s fans.

Last week Celtic fans were censured by a stadium announcer for singing pro-IRA songs during the club’s SPL match against St Mirren at Love Street.

William Gaillard, the UEFA director of communications, said the body was aware of the incident and would be observing crowd behaviour this week.

If officials find evidence of bigotry, they can impose penalties and close some or all of the club’s ground.

“The SFA and the Scottish Premier league run their tournaments. We would never interfere with domestic issues and we’re not monitoring every word from supporters all over Europe,” said Gaillard “Clearly the match against Manchester United is different, because two British teams are involved. Any sectarian chanting would obviously come to the attention of our delegate and we would also consider objective evidence from independent sources.”

Gaillard praised efforts by Rangers and Celtic to improve their fans’ behaviour, adding: “I am impressed by the efforts that have been made to fight it. You don’t hear at Ibrox or Celtic Park the kind of singing that was prevalent 10 years ago.”

Last week a Scottish executive report suggested that Celtic fans believed they were the victims rather than the perpetrators of religious hatred, while Rangers fans did not regard sectarianism as a problem.

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