Celtic faced Club Brugge in the Champions League on Wednesday and Brendan Rodgers’ side were able to secure a point at Celtic Park.
Celtic’s Cameron Carter-Vickers scored an own goal in the first half to give visitors the lead and Daizen Maeda scored the equaliser in the 60th minute.
According to Sporza, the Belgian club had 3,000 fans supporting them against Brendan Rodgers’ side yesterday.
Renaat Schotte, a Club Brugge supporter, spoke to Sporza explaining his experience at Celtic Park and the reception from the Scottish club’s supporters.
The outlet says the Jupiler Pro League side and their followers may not be pleased with the result, but were definitely happy with the atmosphere at Celtic Park.
Celtic fans have a reputation of creating an atmosphere before and during games and Schotte, who was in the stands yesterday, has reinforced that.
“There was talk about the 130 decibels that the Scottish supporters reach with their chants. Well, I can wholeheartedly agree with that. It’s not normal. Everyone went crazy before kick-off,” he said.
“But Club managed to silence them with their play. After half-time, the home fans woke up, together with their club. Then you got the usual experience again.
“You felt the pressure rising and as a visiting fan you become very small. You mean almost nothing anymore. You are really blown away. Those Scots have that collective feeling like no other.”
Prior to the tie, Scottish police had labelled it a ‘high-risk’ clash. Schotte insists the reality on the ground was the opposite and explained Celtic fans came to the aid of lost Club Brugge supporters.
“It’s a shame [high-risk label], because that wasn’t actually necessary. If you approach it the right way, this is an example of a safe and successful sports outing,” Schotte explained.
“I saw how Club fans were guided by Celtic supporters to the correct entrance for the visitors’ section. There was no tension at all. There was fraternisation.
“One downside is that there was chicken wire in front of the away fans’ section. You are already far into the stadium and then there is also a safety net. These measures are at the expense of the model fans.”
