Houllier's appeal only fans the flames

Liverpool manager offers support to striker prior to Celtic rematch

With Liverpool and Celtic within spitting distance of a place in the Uefa Cup semi-finals after a 1-1 draw in Glasgow, a phlegmatic Gérard Houllier called yesterday for both sets of players and supporters to put the El Hadji Diouf controversy behind them and turn tonight's second leg into another of Anfield's "special nights".

On the first anniversary of his emotional return to Liverpool for a Champions' League match with Roma after surgery on a life-threatening coronary condition, the Liverpool manager insisted it was time to move on from the incident last week in which Diouf spat at Celtic fans.

Houllier, who had already fined the Senegalese striker two weeks' wages, said Liverpool had no complaints about the two-match ban imposed on Diouf by Uefa. He believed the European governing body had defused "the heat and the hype" by the manner in which it dealt with his behaviour and what he termed "the provocation".

His use of the p-word may, however, have been provocative in itself to Celtic. The Scottish champions' chief executive, Ian McLeod, earlier described as "absolutely astonishing" Uefa's decision to fine them €5,000 (£3,400) for their fans' "provocative behaviour" towards Diouf after he ran into their midst. McLeod maintained that the spectators' response was one of "good humour".

On learning of Celtic's sense of grievance, Houllier recalled that Liverpool felt similarly bemused by a fine following an incident outside a stadium in Rome. "We want to draw a line under it all," he said of Diouf's indiscretion. "We want to keep a good relationship between the clubs and fans. Judging by the letter I received from the secretary of the Celtic supporters' association, I'm pleased to say they've also put the matter in perspective."

Nevertheless, the issue clearly still troubled Houllier. Having moved on to Emile Heskey, who came under the wing of the Celtic manager, Martin O'Neill, at Leicester, he suddenly reverted to discussing Diouf. "A club is about love, care and forgiveness," he said, an unusual assessment though one that chimes with his experience while recuperating. Diouf, who was "dejected", had to learn, yet he also needed "internal support". "I think [Bill] Shankly would have done exactly the same," Houllier added.

Clubs like Liverpool and Celtic are also about accumulating trophies, of course. Houllier collected the Uefa Cup two years ago, whereas Celtic are in the last eight of a European competition for the first time since 1980. Yet the evidence of Celtic Park was of sides as evenly matched as in their 1997 tie, when Liverpool won on away goals after two draws.

Michael Owen was 17 when he scored his first European goal at Celtic. Now he needs one more to overhaul the club-record of 20 in continental competition which he shares with Ian Rush, though he cautioned against taking anything for granted against such strong opponents armed with a serial scorer like Henrik Larsson.

"Any team that plays Celtic in Scotland treats it as a cup final, so it's unbelievable to get the number of goals [193 in five years] Larsson has for them. Celtic showed they can be dangerous if we let them play. We would have taken a 1-1 scoreline beforehand, but we came away disappointed not to have won."

Diouf's place will probably go to Vladimir Smicer. Despite all but 2,700 of a capacity crowd urging Liverpool forward, Houllier will be aware that an untypically gung-ho approach might allow Celtic more possession than last week. Celtic, beaten by Rangers in the CIS Cup final on Sunday, are likely to recall Stilian Petrov for the injured Chris Sutton. They have scored in 49 consecutive games, which explained why O'Neill argued that they remain "in a great position to win" and uphold Scottish honour.

Talking of which, the "Battle of Britain" tag is as inaccurate as it is crass in the current political climate. When Liverpool edged past Celtic to reach the Cup-Winners' Cup final in 1966, under the managership of Bill Shankly and Jock Stein respectively, 16 of the 24 players used were Scots, the other eight being English. Tonight, the totals will almost certainly be three and six.

* Tyneside police yesterday confirmed that three Celtic players – Joos Valgaeren, Johan Mjallby and Bobby Peta – arrested after a reported fracas with a photographer during the club's Christmas party in Newcastle, will not face any charges.

Liverpool (4-4-2; probable): Dudek; Carragher, Hyypia, Traoré, Riise; Murphy, Gerrard, Hamann, Smicer; Owen, Heskey.

Celtic (3-5-2; probable): Douglas; Mjallby, Baldé, Valgaeren; Smith, Petrov, Lennon, Lambert, Thompson; Larsson, Hartson.