Neil Lennon ‘bewildered’ by Ryan Christie suspension and urges SFA to apologise for banning Celtic ace

Neil Lennon last night called on the SFA to apologise and admit they were wrong to ban Celtic star Ryan Christie for grabbing Rangers striker Alfredo Morelos in the groin.
Celtic manager Neil Lennon was 'disappointed and bewildered' by the SFA ban for Ryan Christie. Picture: Craig Foy/SNSCeltic manager Neil Lennon was 'disappointed and bewildered' by the SFA ban for Ryan Christie. Picture: Craig Foy/SNS
Celtic manager Neil Lennon was 'disappointed and bewildered' by the SFA ban for Ryan Christie. Picture: Craig Foy/SNS

Lennon, speaking from the Parkhead club’s winter training camp in Dubai, said he was angry that midfielder Christie had been cited for an incident in the Ladbrokes Premiership game last month and given a two-match suspension.

“From the club’s point of view we are extremely disappointed and bewildered by the outcome,” he said. “I just don’t see how you can come to that conclusion.

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“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,” added Lennon. “Honestly, we’ve been talking about this for years.

“There is so much confusion – but we have seen incidents that are a lot worse than that go unpunished. There really wasn’t much to it, yet he’s been cited for it and found guilty of how they describe it. But it’s absolutely bizarre.

“It’s so inconsistent. I’ve seen worse that either goes uncited or goes 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.

“I would like to see common sense prevail. I’d like them to say, ‘sorry, we made a mistake’.”