O’Riley insists nothing will stop Celtic in title charge

MATT O’RILEY has sent a defiant message after a series of refereeing decisions have gone against Celtic, saying that nothing will stop them in their quest for a second successive Premiership title.

The Celtic midfielder was penalised for a handball in the area against Ross County by referee David Munro, with David Cancola converting from the spot to give the visitors a shock lead at Celtic Park.

It was the latest in a series of calls by officials that have angered the Celtic players, management staff and supporters of late, but O’Riley says his team showed those decisions won’t affect them after turning the match around to win 2-1 and open up a ninepoint gap at the top of the table.

“I do not know what I really could have done,” O’Riley said. “My hands are by my side. I do not know if the ball hit my hip, then my arm or my arm first, but I do not know where else I could put my arm. We have had some strange decisions go against us at the moment, but they still can’t stop us, so that is alright.”

Celtic manager Ange Postecoglou, meanwhile, said that he is no longer going to t alk about refereeing decisions or VAR calls as it detracts from the achievements of his players.

“Look, I’ve already said that me talking about it the last two weeks * has done a disservice to my football club,” Postecoglou said.

“It’s best I don’t really talk about it anymore. The only way they were going to score today was a penalty and they got it, so, from our perspective, we just have to make sure we score more goals than the opposition.

“I am just really proud of the players. They are an outstanding group of players. The quality is there, but the strength of character is j ust outstanding.”