Sunday Mirror (Northern Ireland)
IT FELT AS IF I WAS ON TRIAL
RYAN CHRISTIE has spoken out for the first time about his controversial ban for grabbing Alfredo Morelos’ privates – and claimed the SFA made him feel like he was on trial in court.
The Celtic midfielder is finally back in the first team frame and on the scoresheet after a minor groin op of his own and a three-game suspension wrecked his post-winter break return.
But he revealed he thought his summons for a bizarre Old Firm flashpoint with the Rangers striker (above) was a wind-up.
Christie, who came off the bench to score his 18th goal of the season against Hearts in midweek, said: “When I first heard about it I thought it was a joke.
“A mate sent me a screenshot and I honestly thought it was a wind-up. I couldn’t even remember the incident – I said that to the panel during the hearing as well.
“I didn’t even realise where I had grabbed at the time. It wasn’t until I watched the footage back that I realised my hand had gone there.
“It was pretty bizarre and I’ve had plenty of people from across the football map get in touch to express their feelings.
“As soon as the game was done it wasn’t even a thought. Maybe 10 seconds after that tackle, it was out of my head.
“He took the ball past me, it was an obvious foul but it felt strange when I got called back up. It was just an instinctive reaction, that’s what I said in my defence.
“As soon as a player goes past you, your first reaction is to try to get your body, or something, between them and the ball. It just so happened my hand went there.”
The 24-year-old added: “It was not something I’ve ever been part of before. I’ve heard guys talking about going to these hearings to fight decisions but I’ve never done it.
“It was so serious. It felt like I was in a proper court case and that I was going to jail if I was found guilty! Hopefully it’s in the past now and it’s my last suspension of the season.”