Skip to content

Scottish Premiership: Celtic winger Aleksandar Tonev says he is not racist despite ban

Aleksander Tonev, Celtic SP
Image: Aleksander Tonev: On-loan Celtic winger must serve ban after losing appeal

Celtic winger Aleksandar Tonev says he is not a racist despite losing an appeal against his seven-match ban for abusing Aberdeen full-back Shay Logan.

Bulgarian Tonev, who has already served one game of the ban, will resume his suspension at the weekend after an appeal tribunal upheld the earlier judicial panel decision in October, sparked by a Scottish Football Association investigation into a complaint by Logan.

The on-loan Aston Villa player, 24, was described as neither a "credible or reliable" witness by the judicial panel in a report that was made public on Tuesday.

I say again that I did not do this, I know what I am and I am not a racist
Aleksander Tonev

In contrast, the panel described Logan, 26, as an "impressive witness" and television footage backed up his account of his response as well as showing him in an agitated state after reporting the incident to his captain Mark Reynolds, referee Bobby Madden, and manager Derek McInnes.

In a statement posted on Celtic's official website, Tonev said: "A lot has happened in the last few months. It has been a very difficult time for me and everyone involved. All I can do is move on from this now.

"I have made my case all along that I never used the words I was accused of using. I say again that I did not do this, I know what I am and I am not a racist.

"I want everyone to understand that, most of all the Celtic fans, who have been a great support to me since coming to the club. I know what happened and I know that I will definitely recover from this as a stronger person."

Celtic revealed they were "extremely disappointed" by the outcome and were considering taking the matter to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

The club also vowed to address the case with the SFA following the verdict of the appeal panel, which called for both its report and the original panel's findings to be made public.

Tonev has already served a match ban before Celtic appealed and the next game he is eligible for is against Ross County on January 24.

Around Sky