'nothing is impossible'

Lazio beg Celtic to do them Europa League favour by beating Cluj.. despite rival fans’ bitter taunts and violent attacks

LAZIO boss Simone Inzaghi has begged Celtic to do them a favour by beating Cluj in the final game in their Europa League group and he's backed Neil Lennon's men to save their skin.

Celtic qualified with two games to go and have already topped the group after a stunning campaign, which included a home and away success against Lazio.

Lazio now must beat Rennes in France and pray the Hoops can go to Romania and win, even though Cluj need just a point to qualify and it's a dead rubber match for Celtic.

And it's unlikely too many Celtic fans would shed a tear for Lazio if they didn't qualify following two clashes containing plenty of ugly off-field incidents.

But Inzaghi insists he has every faith in Celtic.

He said: "First of all, we have to do our duty in France. There's no point worrying about what is happening in the other game if we can't beat Rennes.

"Celtic have given everything in this group and I believe they will do this also in Romania.

"I believe it's the mindset of the Scots to try and win every match and we have to hope they will do that and win at Cluj.

"In football, nothing is impossible. We have to keep believing we will qualify.

"Celtic won at the Stadio Olimpico so they can certainly also win at Cluj. Like I say, it won't matter if we cannot beat Rennes. Let's do our job there and see what happens."

The Hoops were fined £13,000 by Uefa over 'illicit banners' and 'illicit chants' from their supporters during their 2-1 win over Lazio at Parkhead.

The section of the ground which hosts the Green Brigade displayed a series of controversial banners throughout the match.

They displayed a "Brigate Verde" tifo which bore a striking resemblance to Italian left-wing organisation Brigate Rosse.

A flag depicting former dictator Mussolini's hanging was also unveiled with the words "follow your leader" which led to the former Italian prime minister's granddaughter hitting out at Celts supporters.

There were also messages which translated to "f*** Lazio" and "Laziale Parto Anale" which roughly translates to "Lazio fans are birthed anally".

Trouble also flared in Rome with Celtic fans stabbed while armed hooligans attacked a bar full of Bhoys supporters.

Meanwhile, Lazio and Italy midfielder Marco Parolo was still complaining about the Hoops' double success against them.

He said: "We collected zero points against Celtic despite clearly not being inferior to them and that's what has cost us.

"The first defeat against Cluj was one of these things, but losing home and away to Celtic is something that should never have happened."

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