Neil Lennon has called out Clare Whyte after Ryan Christie was hit with a three match ban following the December Glasgow derby.
It’s the first time that the SFA Compliance Officer has got involved this season with much more serious incidents going unpunished.
In September Alfredo Morelos deliberately stood on Chris Jullien’s foot then pushed the Celtic defender in the chest. No Punishment. At the League Cup Final last month Morelos raked his studs down Jullien’s Achilles without getting hit with a retrospective punishment.
On Monday Celtic got word of Christie’s ban with Lennon telling The Sun:
I would like to see common sense prevail. I’d like them to say, ‘Sorry, we made a mistake’. From the club’s point of view, we are extremely disappointed and bewildered by the outcome. I just don’t see how you can come to that conclusion. It’s so inconsistent.
How they find that to be an aggressive act or an act of brutality, as they put it, is baffling to me. I’ve seen worse either go uncited or go unpunished, even when they have been cited.
We are angry about it. The club will speak to the SFA, though I don’t know if they will get any clarification on it or not but from our point of view, we are bitterly disappointed with the outcome.It’s over nothing. We’ve looked at it time and time again and, if anything, it’s accidental.
We could show you umpteen other incidents far worse which have gone unpunished. We don’t understand it and are very angry about it.
Club statements and secret talks with the SFA achieve nothing as Celtic discovered with John Beaton.
The Lanarkshire based referee refused to take action against Morelos for attacks on Christie, Scott Brown and Tony Ralston in December 2018.
Now it has emerged that Beaton witnessed all three incidents and felt that none were worth punishment. Beaton has refereed three Celtic matches this season.