Celtic fans could face nightmare Champions League away trip to Dinamo Zagreb after Borussia Dortmund lodge fan treatment protest

Celtic fans travelling for their Champions League away match against Dinamo Zagreb may be in for a rough trip after Borussia Dortmund’s experience.

The German giants were 3-0 winners on Wednesday evening in Croatia, but the club are now protesting to UEFA after their fans were reportedly “strip-searched and manhandled” as they made their way into the stadium. The Daily Record reports that Dortmund have lodged an official protest with UEFA and some fans had almost turned around and boycotted the match in the Maksimir Stadium.

A win for Brendan Rodgers’ side would put them on the precipice of Champions League qualification, with a high number of fans expected to make the away trip. There were roughly 2,500 BVB fans at the game and they were aghast as security personnel ordered them into makeshift tents for strip searches in an attempt to stop pyrotechnics and other banned items from entering the stadium.

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Dortmund released a statement which said: "We have received numerous complaints about the security service's actions during the personal checks during the admission phase. We condemn this form of checks and are currently in contact with UEFA and Dinamo Zagreb to report and investigate the incidents. Other affected fans should please contact our fan representatives."

Zagreb are also in the midst of a major injury crisis with manager Nenad Bjelica saying he has one fit striker in his squad.

He said: "We were without Ivan Nevistic, Bruna Petkovic, Petr Sucic, Josip Misic and Arijan Ademi and I had to use an 18-year-old midfielder Branko Pavic. We wanted to fight and the boys gave their best, but Dortmund dominated, they have a lot of quality,

"I had to play without a striker. I tried to get the most out of what we had and the idea was to threaten on the counter-attack with the five midfielders, but it was difficult against a team who will be in the top eight I think. In my coaching career, I have never found myself in such a situation where I have had to play without any strikers. And none of the injured players are close to returning for the weekend.

"We need to win our next home game against Celtic and I still believe we will be in the top 24 who qualifies. Let's not forget we are ahead of Real Madrid and PSG in the table."