‘Inflammatory’ Atletico Madrid slammed for honouring infamous Celtic match which needed police intervention

Atletico Madrid’s decision to wear a special strip to celebrate the ‘Shame Game’ has been labelled ‘degrading and inflammatory’.

The Spanish giants will wear a commemorative strip when they face Celtic in the Champions League on Wednesday night to pay tribute to a famous clash 49 years ago.

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Competing in 1974, the two sides played out a horrific 0-0 draw in which Atletico Madrid had three men sent off, seven booked and kicked the Bhoys off the park while being branded an ‘abhorrent affront to proper football’.

Police were even forced to step in, with Atletico legend Miguel Reina previously admitting that his teammate Ruben Diaz could have decapitated Jimmy Johnstone with one of his tackles.

With the first leg of the European Cup clash ending 0-0, Celtic fans were urged not to travel to Madrid for the second leg, with death threats issued to ex-player Jimmy Johnstone and former manager Jock Stein.

Seen as a dark day for football, Atletico clearly mark it as one of the legendary days in their history, with Diego Simeone’s side set to wear an all-red shirt for the clash at Parkhead, something that Celtic legend Tommy Callaghan has questioned.

He said: “Whether Atletico have forgotten all about 1974 and the things that happened, I don’t know.

“I don’t think there will ever be a game like that again. It’s certainly in bad taste to wear that strip and it’s a bit degrading and maybe they are trying to get at Celtic a bit, it’s inflammatory.

“I don’t think it will have any impact on the Celtic team that is playing now as what happened back then had nothing to do with them.

“It’s the club which will be offended and the people still at Celtic and the supporters who were there back then, there’s not a lot of us left but we remember well what happened.”

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Discussing the decision to wear the shirt, Atletico’s president, Enrique Cerezo, said: “This Wednesday we meet again with a historic club in a mythical stadium, Celtic Park, where we will have the honour of reliving a duel that half a century later continues to remain in the memory of all Atletico players.”

Atletico’s captain for that match, Adelardo Rodriguez added: “For all the players who played in that match, and that great European Cup, it is a huge recognition that fifty seasons later, the team is wearing the same uniform again at Celtic Park.

“It fills us with pride now as it filled us with pride then. That semi-final was very special, we had just won the League the previous season and we eliminated a European champion at a very good moment in our careers.”

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