According to the Daily Record Celtic are ready to ‘go to war’ with the SFA following the two match suspension of Ryan Christie.
The Celtic midfielder has been hit with a ban despite the Ibrox striker committing a similar offence last season along with physical attacks on Tony Ralston and Scot Brown. No retrospective action was taken.
After that match Celtic demanded a meeting with SFA chief Ian Maxwell to go public over the performance of John Beaton. Celtic’s call for transparency was settled by a private meeting as Peter Lawwell confirmed to shareholders 10 months later at the club AGM.
Celtic’s chief executive has been slammed online by fans angry at the double standards but according to Keith Jackson at the Daily Record Celtic aren’t giving up on the Christie ban.
Furious Celtic have drawn up a goolie-gate list highlighting previous incidents not sanctioned by the SFA after Ryan Christie was hit with a three game ban for grabbing Alfredo Morelos in the privates.
Record Sport can reveal Parkhead chiefs are set to give the governing body both barrels after Christie was retrospectively found guilty of violent conduct at a hearing on Hampden’s sixth floor.
And we understand the champions have drawn up a catalogue of similar Old Firm flash points in recent derbies which underline what they believe to be glaring inconsistencies in the selective way in which compliance officer Clare Whyte administers the disciplinary procedure.
That list is believed to include Rangers winger Ryan Kent knocking Scott Brown to the ground at Celtic Park last season. It also contains three incidents from the December dust up between the pair at Ibrox when Morelos clashed with Brown, Anthony Ralston and Christie during another stormy festive encounter.
Celtic’s hierarchy is particularly incensed Morelos escaped retrospective punishment despite grabbing a handful of Christie’s crown jewels during that match in an almost identical incident to the one which now forces their talisman onto the sidelines.
A source said: “It’s the inconsistency in the way the disciplinary procedure is handled which people find so difficult to understand.
The club has a long list of incidents from recent derby games which went unpunished. Scott Brown was booted in the groin and Anthony Ralston had stud marks on his leg after being stamped on. There was also an incident between Morelos and Christie which was remarkably similar to the one for which Ryan has now been banned. But nothing happened.
“The official line from the SFA is that the referee saw all of those incidents at the time while Kevin Clancy didn’t see what happened between Christie and Morelos which is why it has been dealt with retrospectively.
“But when supporters see these kind of inconsistencies it’s no wonder they struggle to understand what’s going on.”
After pulling back on their call for transparency regarding Beaton’s display at Ibrox in December 2018 it will be difficult to revive that issue.
In September 2017 Stewart Regan referred the issue of the 2011 UEFA licence to their Compliance Officer, so far, no decision has been taken over a decision that potentially cost Celtic £20m from Champions League participation.