Scottish giants Celtic have confirmed that they will appeal the long ban received by loan player Aleksandar Tonev.
The Bulgarian winger, who is on a season-long loan from Aston Villa, was handed a seven-match ban by the Scottish Football Association last week after he allegedly racially abused Aberdeen's Shay Logan in September.
Following the announcement of the ban, Celtic have released a statement making clear that they will back their player and go up against the hefty sanction.
"Racism has no place in football and as a club for all people, Celtic absolutely abhors racism of any kind," read the Hoops statement.
"This was a very unfortunate case, but the club has accepted Aleksandar's explanation that he did not say the words that were alleged to have been said and that he is not a racist.
"We are, therefore, very disappointed by the outcome today and can confirm that Aleksandar will be appealing this decision."
