Copenhagen forward Michael Santos banned for three matches after clash with police at Celtic

Copenhagen forward Michael Santos has been banned for three European matches following a clash with a police officer, UEFA has confirmed.

Santos collided with an officer while celebrating the second goal in his side's Europa League victory at Celtic in February.

Copenhagen confirmed both Santos and one of their club stewards had been charged by Scottish police following the match, and UEFA has now suspended the player for "assaulting another person present at the match".

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The Danish club have issued a response, however, as they consider an appeal.

A statement read: "Copenhagen believe the penalty is too harsh when all circumstances from the clash are taken into account. Therefore we have now asked UEFA for the written statement of the sanction in order to assess whether or not the order should be appealed."

Santos was previously quoted as saying he was "not worried" about the possible ramifications of his actions.

Speaking after Copenhagen's league clash with AaB Aalborg, the Scottish Sun reported that he said: "It is important for me to emphasise that the club has said that I should not comment on the episode, but I am not worried.

"I am also happy personally because I have not scored so much. So it is nice to score both in Glasgow and twice tonight."

Santos scored the opening goal in the 51st minute of the Europa League round of 32 second-leg clash at Parkhead, when he was on hand to capitalise on a pair of defensive errors.

Copenhagen won the match 3-1 to progress to the round of 16 4-2 on aggregate. They lost the first leg of the subsequent tie, 1-0 away to Istanbul BB, however the return fixture was unable to take place because of the coronavirus pandemic and has subsequently been postponed indefinitely, along with all other fixtures in the competition and the majority of football across Europe.

Santos arrived at Copenhagen from La Liga side Malaga in August 2019 in a £2 million deal. The 27-year-old, capped twice at senior level by Uruguay, has scored nine times in 34 appearances for the Danish club including twice in nine Europa League matches, the other strike coming against FC Lugano in the group stage.