Linfield hit back at 'hysterical' press articles ahead of potential Celtic clash

The club focused on an article from the Daily Record where ex-Celtic winger Joe Miller recalled a time he played against Linfield for Aberdeen at Windsor Park.

Mr Miller claimed that during the friendly match he was the target of laser rangefinders and that angry home fans confronted Aberdeen players in the street.

In rebuking Mr Miller’s accusations which included a quote that “there were red dots on us for the whole 90 minutes”, Linfield insist the match never took place.

The club said their utmost concentration was on their first round tie against La Fiorita of San Marino, however they felt they must issue “a public response to some of the more hysterical articles that have appeared in the press over the last few days”.

The statement decribed the Daily Record article as “a particularly regrettable piece” and “demonstrably untrue”.

They went on to say that: “Linfield FC has no record of having played Aberdeen at Windsor Park or elsewhere in the entire decade Mr Miller refers to, whether in a friendly fixture, training game or otherwise. In fact, it appears that Linfield have never played against Aberdeen at all throughout our entire history.”

The club went on to explain how it was highly improbable for the players to be targeted with laser pointers – even if the game had taken place – as “neither the then-RUC nor the British carried lasers fitted to their weapons” and, in the mid-90s, laser pointers were not available to the general public.

Linfield said they had instructed solicitors to write to Mr Miller and the Daily Record adding that their solicitors were “on retainer to investigate any further attacks on the good character of this club and its supporters”.