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Celtic to 'take action' after accusations of fan trouble at Old Firm derby

Celtic chief executive Peter Lawwell said he intends to deal with the issue of Bhoys' fans behaviour at the Old Firm derby after Rangers accused them of a "sickening and shameful display of outright sectarian hatred."

Underneath a banner reading, "This is it Bhoys, this is war", two blow-up dolls -- one wearing a Rangers scarf, the other an Orange sash -- with nooses wrapped round their necks and arms tied behind their backs were strung up from the upper tier.

Rangers officials said they shared the "disgust" felt by their fans and have called for Celtic supporters to be banned from Ibrox when the sides next meet on Dec. 31 but Lawwell doesn't want action meted out in public.

"What we won't do is to get into a public spat or tit-for-tat situation," he told talkSPORT. "We try to operate to the highest possible standards.

"We will deal with these matters as we always do in a professional and private manner. But if there is anyone found in any way behaving in a manner that we don't like then we will take the action.

"But I don't think we want to sensationalise this, I think we want to put it into context. The overwhelming proportion of the supporters who were in the stadium gave us huge positive support and I don't think we should take it out of context.

"We should take it seriously and we will deal with it in the manner that we always do."

Meanwhile, Rangers assistant boss David Weir could face further punishment after being sent to the stands during their 5-1 defeat at Celtic Park.

Weir mistakenly believed Mikael Lustig had already been booked and demanded referee Willie Collum show the Celtic defender a second yellow card for a challenge on Rangers' Barrie McKay.

After receiving Collum's official report, Scottish FA compliance officer Tony McGlennan is yet to decide whether to charge Weir but as the case is not covered by the SFA's fast-track proceedings, he can take his time before deciding if action is necessary.

If McGlennan is satisfied Weir's behaviour amounted to misconduct, he will issue a notice of complaint before the matter is sent to a disciplinary panel for judgement, with a touchline ban among the possible sanctions.