EURO BLOW AS JOZO BAN IS EXTENDED

JOZO SIMUNOVIC was last night ruled out of Celtic’s Champions League return with Rosenborg after landing an additional one-match ban from UEFA. The Bosnian missed Wednesday’s first-leg 3-1 win over the Norwegian champions, following a needless red card against Armenians Alashkert in the first qualifying round. And Brendan Rodgers will be forced to stretch his resources to the max for this week’s second leg in Trondheim after UEFA’s control, ethics and disciplinary body (CEDB) decided a high challenge deserved further punishment. A UEFA statement read: ‘The CEDB has decided to suspend the Celtic player Jozo Simunovic for two UEFA competition matches. ‘The player has already served one match and will therefore be suspended for the next match for which he would be otherwise eligible.’ The latest Champions League personnel blow means Rodgers could be forced to go with the inexperienced duo of Kristoffer Ajer and Jack Hendry as the Parkhead side seek to defend and build on their two-goal advantage and secure a third qualifying round clash with AEK Athens. Celtic, meanwhile, won’t entertain interest from West Ham United in midfielder Olivier Ntcham. The Frenchman was a standout in the midweek win over Rosenborg, scoring an exceptional goal. And respected Parisian sports paper

L’Equipe claim the English Premier League side have lodged an enquiry with the Scottish champions. Signed for £4.5million last season, senior Celtic sources insist they have had no contact from West Ham — and have no interest in selling a player under contract until 2021.