Brendan Rodgers wants Celtic stand-off with Green Brigade sorted ASAP but ultras warned 'it’s not a political arena'

Brendan Rodgers has broken his silence on the rift between Celtic and the Green Brigade by backing the club’s decision to ban the rogue group of fans.

Rodgers spoke out after a stormy AGM on Thursday when supporters and shareholders argued about the decision to shut down the North Curve section of Parkhead. The controversial ultras have threatened to orchestrate ‘a day of action’ around Celtic Park on Saturday when Rodgers and his players take on Motherwell looking to stretch their lead at the top of the table to 11 points.

And, while the manager admits the banning order has punctured the match day atmosphere inside the stadium, he insists the actions of the band of militant fans can’t go unpunished after they compromised the values of the club. During Thursday’s meeting with shareholders chief executive Michael Nicholson rhymed off a long list of recent flash points including incidents at Motherwell, Kilmarnock and Hibs, a break in at Celtic Park and a pro-Palestinian display which earned the club another whopping fine from UEFA.

Against this backdrop of chaos and unrest Rodgers is focused on ramming home his side’s advantage at the top of the Premiership even though he expects the mood inside the ground to be muted again today as it was when his side crashed six goals past Aberdeen before the international break. But he insists it’s a price worth paying.

Rodgers said: “It’s all about values. It’s the bigger picture, the values of this club, which are all about respect, integrity and everything else. That far outreaches anything else, and if those values are compromised in any way, then we the club will look at that.

“If someone, or people, are deemed to have misbehaved, you just can’t go along and accept that