Celtic winger Aleksandar Tonev has been banned for seven games for racially abusing Aberdeen’s Shay Logan during a Scottish Premiership match on September 13th.
The Bulgarian international, who is on-loan from Aston Villa, denied the charges but officials from the Scottish league have confirmed that the complaint had been upheld after a disciplinary tribunal.
Celtic have already stated that they will appeal against the punishment, insisting Tonev is “not a racist” and the club “absolutely abhors racism of any kind.”
A spokesperson from the Scottish club said: “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 24-year-old has made eight domestic appearances for Celtic since joining the Scottish side on-loan from Aston Villa. The match in question against Aberdeen was the first time Tonev featured for the ‘Bhoys in Green’.
