RY’S TRIAL & ERROR
Hoops star hits out at SFA disciplinary process after copping ban – and insists it’s time for a shake-up
Ryan Christie has told how he felt he was on trial after being hauled before a SFA disciplinary hearing.
The Celtic star thought it was a joke when he was cited for grabbing Alfredo Morelos’ privates in December’s Old Firm derby. He said: “It was so serious.
“It felt like I was in a proper court and that I was going to jail if found guilty!”
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 was a joke and a wind-up – until the reality of the hearing.
Both his club and astonished boss Neil Lennon railed angrily against the ban at the time, claiming huge inconsistencies in the disciplinary set-up after Morelos escaped punishment for a similar offence on Christie a year earlier.
And Christie, who came off the bench to score his 18th goal of the season against Hearts in midweek, reckons the lack of football knowledge on the three-man panel betrayed their failure to understand what had happened.
He 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. 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!”
Asked if his explanation fell on deaf ears because it was made to people who maybe hadn’t played the game, he said: “That’s it. Other people have spoken about that before, in terms of trying to get more football-based people on these panels.
“But that’s not really up to me to decide – there would be talk then of people being biased and all that.
“Hopefully it’s in the past now – and it’s my last suspension of the season.”
The suspension – branded as laughable by skipper Scott Brown – wasn’t the only frustration for the Scotland star.
The fact he ended up under the surgeon’s knife in the immediate aftermath of the Old Firm defeat on December 29, a game in which he missed a penalty, only added to his January misery.
The 24-year- old said: “It is nice to be back playing again.
“I had to go straight in after the Old Firm match and get an operation done for a groin injury.
“It was handy how quickly we got it done – we had the winter break and the trip to Dubai to let it heal without any games.
“And I’m not saying the suspension was a good thing but it also meant I couldn’t play in those games anyway – so technically I didn’t miss out on much.”
Despite Christie’s monumental first half of the season, he has found himself warming the bench most of the time since his return to fitness with the champions on fire.
He said: “I had it earlier in the season after the red card at Livingston as well and I was suspended. The boys put six past
Ross County and four past Aberdeen.
“And it’s frustrating when you’re on the sidelines. Of course you want the boys to do well and keep the run going – but you want to be part of it too.
“So it was good to come on, get a goal against Hearts and feel a bit more part of things again.
“I’m confident I can get back to where I was. I hope I’ve still got a big part to play between now and the end of the season
because there are so many big games, domestical ly and in Europe as well.
“And we have the squad in the right place to be fighting on all three fronts, now that everyone is coming back fit.
“You can see, when everyone is fit we have a lot of quality.
“People speak about the number of games so we’ll need that squad, everyone needs to be ready to give a helping hand.”
Christie faces a return to Pittodrie today – and a reunion with Aberdeen boss Derek McInnes.
The Dons gaffer has come under heavy fire after an indifferent run but a win over Hamilton last Tuesday saw them move back into third spot.
The Celtic star, who played 54 games for McInnes while on loan in the Granite City, reckons the Pittodrie boss has become a victim of his own success.
He said: “I enjoyed my time under him at Aberdeen and I have a lot to thank him for, in terms of how my career has gone.
“But with every season he’s fighting a tougher battle. Celtic and Rangers are trying to step up our levels so it makes it even harder for them to catch up.
“There’s a demand from the fans for them to keep pushing but I know how hard that is.
“Pittodrie is always hard for the opposition but we got a good 4- 0 win up there back in October.
“I ’ m sure they wi l l be changing things so we won’t do that again. They will make it tough.”
Celtic’s 5- 0 midweek romp over Hearts opened up the first double-figures gap of the season over Rangers. But Christie warned: “One of the first things the gaffer said after Wednesday was that we can’t get carried away.
“There are so many games coming so quick that as soon as you start taking your foot off the gas it can bite you.
“We know how big a game this is and need to keep rolling out the wins.” Meanwhile, Christie is looking ahead to Thursday’s Europa League clash in Copenhagen – and admits he’d love to be back on penalty duty despite that Old Firm miss.
He said: “I can’t wait for European football again - it’s a huge tie.
We know how big a game this is and need to keep rolling out the wins
“I’ve no idea if I will be back on the penalties – though I still fancy myself to score despite that miss.
“I tortured myself after the Old Firm game – it’s always easy to think I should have gone the other way.
“I just choose a side – our goalkeeping coach Stevie Woods always warns me that if I change my mind then I’m due a fine!”
The trip to Denmark comes in the middle of a run of form which has seen Celtic win eight on the bounce, scoring 27 and conceding just three.
And Christie said: “Everyone is desperate to play in these big Europa League matches.
“And hopefully we can go further. We feel we have a point to prove in this competition.”