Before this match, Barcelona's president Joan Laporta declaired the Celtic fans as "the best travelling supporters in the world." He said: ‘The Celtic supporters are fantastic, in fact the best travelling supporters in the world, as we have seen many times."

Talking about the upcoming return match in the fantastic city of Barcelona he added "We can assure Celtic supporters that they will receive a very warm welcome when they visit the city. I know that Celtic supporters are extremely passionate about their club, a club which I believe, like FC Barcelona, is different. We know that supporters will travel in huge numbers to follow their team, but we also know the great reputation of good behaviour which Celtic fans enjoy and clearly we are looking forward to hosting the Celtic fans in the city once again. I know that the city council, the police, Celtic FC and FC Barcelona have been working very closely over a number of weeks to ensure that Celtic’s visit will again be a great success. There will be special arrangements made in the city to ensure that we do all we can to ensure this is the case. We hope all Celtic supporters enjoy their visit to Barcelona."