Let's just say that every Celtic fan would rather see the club in the Champions League right now. But they failed to make to Europe's elite competition this time around. The qualification phase has been a hurdle for them over the years and that turned out to be the case once again, as they could not get past Kairat Almaty, even though the Kazakh side were heavy underdogs and had never played at that level before.
As a result, Celtic will now be playing Europa League football. Of course, nobody is happy about it but it is also an opportunity for them to make a deep run in Europe for once.
They did make it past the first phase in the Champions League last season and only narrowly lost to Bayern Munich over two legs, even drawing at the Allianz Arena. So, making it to the last 16 of the Europa League has to be the minimum target for Brendan Rodgers' side this time around.
Their first game of the competition is this week. Celtic will be travelling to the Rajko Mitic Stadium in Serbia to take on Red Star Belgrade.
UEFA make official Celtic vs Red Star Belgrade announcement
As reported by The Herald, UEFA have confirmed the officials for the Europa League match between Celtic and Red Star Belgrade. The referee is going to be Radu Petrescu. Radu Ghinguleac and Mircea Mihail Grigoriu will be his two assistants. Andrei Chivulete will be the fourth official. Michael Fabbri will be on VAR duty with Marcel Birsan as his assistant on the night.
Petrescu has refereed in seven matches so far this season. Over those, he has shown 29 yellow cards and a red card as well.
So, while he is not a 'card happy' referee by any means, he is not afraid to make a decision either. Hopefully, there will be no controversial decisions in Belgrade though, and the match will be decided by the quality shown by the players on the pitch rather than the decisions made by the officials.
Red Star might not be a high-profile name these days. But everybody with a passing knowledge of the European game will know how difficult this away trip is going to be for Celtic.