Celtic striker under fire after 'horrific' tackle forces player to get stitches - 'you can see through his mouth'
The Celtic striker’s tackle had been branded as ‘horrific’
Celtic’s on-loan striker Johnny Kenny has come under fire after making a “disgusting” tackle that left a player needing stitches in his mouth on his first start for Bolton Wanderers.
The 22-year-old frontman made his full debut for the EFL League outfit in Tuesday night’s 1-1 draw with Reading after joining the Trotters on deadline day, but was embroiled in controversy after he appeared to boot defender Paudie O'Connor in the face as the pair battled for the ball.
Steven Schumacher's side rescued a late draw when Mason Burstow tapped home to cancel out Jack Marriott’s first-half opener deep into stoppage time, leaving Royals’ head coach Leam Richardson was left frustrated after referee Peter Wright failed to caution the Irishman for the challenge, which left O'Connor with a bloody face and damage to his teeth.
“I've been told myself that it's a horrific challenge,” said Richardson. "I thought the officiating leaves everybody questioning a lot of things tonight. I think we've been winning now four or five times, and 11 minutes added has gone up, 10 minutes, eight minutes, nine minutes. Give a corner for a goalkeeper having it in his hands for seven seconds, I've not seen that one in February.
"I thought momentum shifted quite a lot without the 11 players or 22 players having anything to do with it. That's a question for everybody else, I wonder why? It's a terrible one [the tackle]. It's an absolute terrible one. Disgusting one. He's getting stitched as we speak now. He's getting stitched, teeth have suffered. You can see through his mouth.”
Prior to the game, Bolton head coach Schumacher had heralded the loan capture of the “confident” young forward, as he backed him to make an impact on the Celtic first-team in the years to come.
“He doesn't strike me as a player who lacks confidence,” said the Bolton boss. “We have only had him at the training ground for three or four days but we saw on Saturday that he came on and made a really good impact. When I spoke to him in the summer he seemed a bright lad who understood the game, knew what his strengths are and what he could bring to our team.
“We didn’t managed to get the deal done then but when I spoke to him again in January it didn’t seem he was lacking confidence – it just seems to me that he played in a team at Celtic who have had a difficult season, really. They've had three different managers, so that's not easy as a young player trying to lead the line for such a big club. We are just happy to have him here. He seems to be enjoying it. He's settled in with the lads fine. And I think he'll be a good player for us.”
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