Massimo Donati poised to Italy return

Massimo Donati poised to Italy return

Celtic midfielder Massimo Donati is poised to return to Italy after Bari announced they are on the brink of signing him.

The former AC Milan player joined Celtic in 2007 and scored in Wednesday night's Champions League defeat to Arsenal.

Bari said on their official website that Celtic have accepted their offer, and that the deal will be completed on Friday with Donati signing a four-year contract.

Donati struggled to settle down in the Celtic team under previous boss Gordon Strachan but has reclaimed his place recently following the appointment of Tony Mowbray as manager.

However he is now expected to be presented to the Italian media by Bari on Monday.

The 28-year-old was a £3million recruit by the Hoops two years ago and terms of his return to Serie A with last season's Serie B champions have not been revealed.

Donati's final act in a Celtic shirt will arguably go down as his best, after his stunning volley gave Mowbray's side a consolation goal in their 5-1 aggregate defeat to Arsenal in the European play-offs.

He later admitted Celtic were simply not good enough to earn a place in the group stages.

Donati offered no hint that it would be his final game for Celtic and was quick to call for Arsenal striker Eduardo to be banned following the final whistle, for his apparent dive which won a penalty.

UEFA have confirmed they will review the incident, which could lead to a two-match ban for the Croatia international.

While conning the referee has angered Celtic players and fans, midfielder Donati accepts it had no bearing on the result.

"We tried to play the ball around but Arsenal were just too good for us," said Donati.

"We lost because Arsenal are one of the best in the world, in the last few years they have made the quarters, semis and final of the competition so we knew it would be hard.

"We tried our best but it wasn't good enough and they were better than us.

"It was definitely not a penalty, he dived, but that is part of football and sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't.

"Arsenal are one of the best teams in the world but now all we can do is concentrate on the league and the Europa League as well."

Donati's focus will switch to the Italian league though, following tonight's development.

Mowbray's men now head straight into the Europa League group stages.

Senior figures have spoken out about simulation following the incident involving Eduardo.

"There are disciplinary procedures at UEFA and the procedure could be taken to suspend the player," said UEFA president Michel Platini.

UEFA have previously banned Lithuania's Saulius Mikoliunas for two matches after television replays showed he dived to win a penalty against Scotland in a European Championships qualifier in 2007.

"Scotland often start such procedures, last time it was a Lithuania player who was sanctioned," Platini added.

Scottish Football Association chief executive Gordon Smith wants UEFA to punish Eduardo as they did Mikoliunas.

Smith said: "Eduardo is a terrific player who has battled back from a serious injury to resume playing at the highest level.

"However, last night he showed disrespect to the game by his actions in winning a penalty against Celtic.

"Since I came into this post, I have raised the issue of simulation time and time again - both here in Scotland and with FIFA and UEFA.

"I don't think that I have received enough support in my efforts to eradicate what I believe to be one of the most serious threats to the integrity of football. This showed exactly why we must take this issue seriously.

"We have shown the courage to use retrospective punishment when it comes to simulation and I would urge UEFA to do so in this instance. Everything that can be done to stamp it out must be done - starting right now."