DUTCH ref Bas Nijhuis, who once caused the entire team of AZ Alkmaar to walk off the pitch in protest at a bizarre sending-off, will be in charge of Celtic's crunch Champions League showdown tonight in Isreal.

Experienced official Nijhuis has never been in charge of a game involving Celtic or indeed any Scottish team.

But he made headlines around the world five years ago following a Dutch Cup match in his native Netherlands.

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AZ were trailing 1-0 to Ajax after 36 minutes at the Amsterdam ArenA when a home fan raced on to the pitch and went straight for visiting keeper Esteban Alvarado.The Herald:

But the Costa Rican keeper turned the tables on his attacker by tripping him up before sinking his boot into the hooligan several times.

Incredibly, instead of receiving the grateful thanks of the whistler for dealing with the attacker, Nijhuis promptly flashed a straight red card at the keeper.

It sparked outrage among AZ players and manager Gert Jan Verbeek ordered his side off and they refused to return.

After the game, the ref explained: "I understand that Esteban was defending himself, but he walked to the supporter and kicked him multiple times. He could also have walked away."

The match was later replayed behind closed doors and the Dutch FA subsequently rescinded the red card.