Celtic's Champions League clash in Milan next month could be played in an empty San Siro stadium.

The second leg of the last-16 clash against AC Milan is scheduled for March 7th, but the prospect of supporters from either club being allowed attend diminished today.

Both AC Milan and Inter could play the remainder of this season's home games - domestic and European - behind closed doors should the Italian government stand by a safety rules proposal.

The decisions come in the wake of crowd unrest at Catania last Friday which led to the death of police officer Filippo Raciti and left numerous others injured.

The Italian authorities plan to ban spectators from stadia not considered to have met required security standards, and the San Siro is among them.

AC Milan vice president Adriano Galliani said: "If the authorities confirm their decision is final, we will have to play behind closed doors."

Galliani believes the required work cannot be completed until the start of next season.

"They certainly will not be finished before October," he said. "The San Siro is one of the biggest stadia and the work will not be finished before the end of the season.

"AC Milan and Inter have done everything possible, but there is nothing we can do to speed up the process."

It is understood that only five stadia in Serie A currently meet the required standard - the Stadio Olimpico in Rome, the Artemio Franchi in Siena, the Stadio Olimpico in Turin, Renzo Barbera in Palermo, Sampdoria's Luigi Ferraris and Messina's San Filippo.

The Italian government will tomorrow announce details of the security measures football clubs must adopt.

Italian football commissioner Luca Prandelli has confirmed that those rules implemented by the government will take effect immediately and stadia that meet the safety guidelines in the future will have their supporter bans lifted.

"The security problem is the number one priority," said Pancalli. "Watching the football comes later. I obviously speak about safety for everyone, from officers, to fans, executives, referees, coaches and players."