LASK honour Celtic fan with minute’s silence before Champions League return

For a few quiet moments the Raiffeisen Arena fell still, the din of an important European night giving way to silence. Austrian champions LASK paused on Tuesday evening to remember a Celtic supporter who died after being taken ill at last week’s first leg of this Champions League play-off in Glasgow, and those packed into the ground made the gesture unmistakable with a banner held aloft bearing four simple words: rest in peace, James.

Sadness before the whistle

The supporter was a 65-year-old who became unwell inside Celtic Park during Wednesday’s opening instalment of the tie. Ambulance crews moved him to Glasgow Royal Infirmary, but he passed away shortly after arrival, leaving the occasion — already one of the biggest two-legged contests of the European summer — heavy with grief.

The minute’s silence, held before the 20:00 kick-off in Linz, was the hosts’ own gesture. LASK had told Celtic in advance that they wanted to observe it in memory of the fan, and they honoured that promise to the letter as both sets of players stood together in respect.

Among the home support, a banner was unfurled carrying a personal message that gave the tribute its focus. It read simply: “Rest in peace, James.”

Gratitude from Celtic

Celtic moved swiftly to acknowledge the kindness. On social media the Scottish champions explained that LASK had been in contact about holding a silence before the return match, in memory of the supporter who had fallen ill at Celtic Park and died. The club’s short note ended with thanks and appreciation for their Austrian counterparts.

Last week’s statement from Celtic had paid tribute to the emergency services and to the supporters who rallied round during a distressing spell in the East End of Glasgow. The club also promised the family their full support through an extremely difficult period.

A place in the group stage on the line

All of which lent an unusual weight to the football at stake. Martin O’Neill’s side arrived in Austria holding a commanding 3-0 aggregate lead, and the winners of the tie bank a place in the lucrative group stage. With a cushion of that size, Celtic could even have withstood a two-goal defeat and still have sealed their passage to the next phase.

The Austrian champions had earned the right to test themselves against the Scottish giants by winning their own league, yet there was no edge to the build-up — only a shared sense of loss felt across both sets of supporters inside the ground.

For all that rode on the 90 minutes, the most significant moment of the night happened before a ball was kicked. Two clubs, one at either end of a continental contest, stood together to remember a supporter who will not make the journey home. It was a reminder that across Europe’s great grounds the bonds of football stretch well beyond the full-time whistle — and that even rivals pause as one when tragedy strikes a member of their own.