Celtic football club have been charged by Uefa after fans flew Palestinian flags before and during the Glasgow side’s match against Hapoel Be’er Sheva.

Uefa had warned prior to Wednesday's Champions League qualifier that the Bhoys could face sanctions if flags were displayed by protesters inside Celtic Park.

In a statement on Friday the football governing body confirmed it had opened disciplinary proceedings against the Scottish champions.

The case will be heard on September 22. Uefa is more likely to hand down a severe punishment if a rule breach re-occurs within a five-year period.

Celtic fall into this category, having been fined in 2014 after fans staged a similar demonstration and waved Palestinian flags at a match against KR Reykjavik.

A small group of demonstrators shouted “Israel is a racist state” and “Viva Palestina” on the concourse outside the ground before this week's match against the Israeli champions. Officers mounted on horseback patrolled the area.

Stanley Lovatt, the honorary Israeli consul in Scotland, said he saw “a couple of dozen protesters” before kick-off.

He added: “There was a flurry of Palestinian flags inside the ground just as the game started, but absolutely no trouble at all.”

Before the match, hundreds of fans had joined a Facebook page titled “Fly the flag for Palestine, for Celtic, for Justice”, calling on supporters to display the flags as a protest against Israel.

A group called Celtic Fans for Palestine set up the page. It called on Celtic fans to use their “democratic rights to display our opposition to Israeli apartheid”.