Mr Kennedy spoke out after Poland international Artur Boruc, nicknamed the 'Holy Goalie' by Hoops fans, stripped off his jersey to show the T-shirt with the slogan.

Joke

Strachan joked: "He's (the Pope], not a bad lad. If it was 'God bless Myra Hindley' I might have had a problem."

But Mr Kennedy added that he believed both coach and player should have behaved more responsibly in the highly-charged atmosphere of the Glasgow derby match.

Responsible

He said: "Professional footballers and their managers need to ensure they behave more responsibly in the sectarian cauldron of an Old Firm game.

"This act needs to be explored and should not be overlooked.

"Celtic have a responsibility to ensure that no action by players shoudl exacerbate the conflicting situation.

"The player should be ashamed of himself and the manager shoudl reflect on his inability to condemn it and to deal with it properly."