Boruc fined for Old Firm gesture

Boruc has won three titles in a row with Celtic

Celtic goalkeeper Artur Boruc has been found guilty of improper conduct by the Scottish FA's disciplinary committee and warned about his future conduct.

Boruc, 28, was photographed gesturing towards Rangers fans during Celtic's Old Firm defeat at Parkhead in August.

And he was fined £500 and severely censured by the SFA review panel at a hearing at Hampden on Thursday.

The Poland international has been at the centre of a series of controversies since signing for Celtic in 2005.

In August 2006, he received a procurator fiscal's caution for breach of the peace as an alternative to prosecution after making gestures towards Rangers fans at Ibrox in February that year.

In March, he was shown a yellow card for making a gesture towards Hibernian fans after Celtic's 2-0 victory at Easter Road.

Then, in April, he wore a "God bless the Pope" t-shirt on the pitch after a 3-2 victory over Rangers.

Most recently, he was dropped from the international squad for alleged off-the-field misbehaviour in August.

Boruc made the latest gesture at Rangers fans after conceding four goals while Celtic's Glasgow rivals ran out comfortable winners at Celtic Park on 31 August.

His case was held over from 16 September in order to allow him to prepare for the following night's Champions League opener against Aalborg.

He was to be given the opportunity to explain his actions.

Boruc's fine is identical to that given to Dundee United goalkeeper Lukasz Zaluska for gestures his fellow Pole made during a match against Aberdeen last season.

SFA president George Peat said: "The SFA tries to be as consistent as possible."

Peat was conscious that some might say that the fine was miniscule compared to the earnings of players like Boruc.

"You could have the same position with someone who is earning a lot less and, unless you decided that you were going to take it as a percentage of his earnings, it's a difficult one to evaluate," he said.

"We certainly have to discourage it as it does no-one any good to try to incite supporters and we have to eliminate that.

"We just hope that the message has got through and it does not continue."

The Celtic goalkeeper has seven working days to appeal the SFA's decision.