Celtic's Ryan Christie is facing a potential two-match ban for allegedly grabbing the groin of Alfredo Morelos during their Old Firm Derby loss last weekend.
Christie has been cited by the SFA for under rule 200, A2, which allows a player to be punished for a red card offence which was not spotted by a match official at the time. His hearing will take place on January 6th.
You can watch the incident below:
Ryan Christie'ye 2 maç ceza geliyor... Morelos'un yoklamaktan... Görüntüler sonrası... pic.twitter.com/1joG52VQja
— Cengiz İzmitli/İskoçyalı 🏴 (@thekingofscot) January 1, 2020
In a statement responding to the SFA charge, Celtic said:
We are absolutely astonished at this decision. Clearly we will defend Ryan vigorously.
Celtic fans will assuredly point to a similar incident between the same pair of players last season, with the roles reversed.
In a meeting between the two last season, Morelos also appeared to strike out at that general region of his opponent. He faced no retrospective action.
Morelos:
-Kicks brown in the goolies
-Stands studs down on Ralston's back
-Grabs Christie in the goolies
Commited 4 fouls in open play aswell.
Beaton done his hardest to not book him and succeeded. Hunbelievable. pic.twitter.com/PAE3XI72EF— ᴘʙ 🍀 (@p_bov1) December 29, 2018
It certainly seems like much of the same thing. Celtic will no doubt raise a similar argument during their appeal.
