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Bulgarian suspended for seven games but his club will appeal
BULGARIAN WINGER Aleksandar Tonev is to receive the full support of his club Celtic after he was found guilty of calling Aberdeen’s Shay Logan a “black c*nt” during a Scottish league game.
Tonev, who is on loan at Parkhead from Aston Villa, was banned for seven games following a five-hour disciplinary hearing yesterday (Oct 30) at Hampden.
Celtic said they will appeal against the Scottish FA’s ruling and ban.
The punishment relates to Englishman Logan’s allegation that Tonev used the racist language during Celtic’s 2-1 win over Aberdeen in September, in which the defender reported the abuse to referee Bobby Madden, team captain Mark Reynolds and club manager Derek McInnes.
RACISM BAN: Tonev (PA)
Tonev maintains he did not use the racist term and that he is innocent of the charge. He was accompanied at yesterday’s hearing by Celtic assistant manager John Collins.
In a statement after the hearing, Celtic said they accepted Tonev’s verion of events. It read: “Racism has no place in football and as a club for all people, Celtic absolutely abhors racism of any kind.
“This was a very unfortunate case, but the Club has accepted Aleksandar's explanation that he did not say the words that were alleged to have been said and that he is not a racist.
“We are, therefore, very disappointed by the outcome today and can confirm that Aleksandar will be appealing this decision.”
The case echoes that of Chelsea captain John Terry, who was accused and banned by the FA for four games after being found guilty of calling Anton Ferdinand a "black c*nt" in a Premier League game between the Blues and Queens Park Rangers in 2011.