GLASGOW (AFP) - Celtic manager Gordon Strachan saw his four-match touchline ban for a row with a steward at Aberdeen halved on appeal here on Tuesday.

The 51-year-old former Aberdeen midfielder was sent to the stands at Pittodrie on August 19 following the pitchside confrontation by referee Charlie Richmond.

Strachan was subsequently found guilty of "unacceptable conduct" by the Scottish Football Association's disciplinary committee in January.

Celtic, however, contested the decision and an SFA appeals board reduced Strachan's punishment to two games although the Celtic manager will still have to watch the league matches against Inverness and Hibernian, on Wednesday and Saturday respectively, from the stands.

Hoops coach Tommy Burns insisted at the time of the incident that Strachan had been defending his assistant Garry Pendrey following accusations he had made a rude gesture to the Aberdeen fans behind the dugout.

Celtic are currently second in the Scottish Premier League table, four points behind arch Glasgow rivals and leaders Rangers.