Official: Celtic Star Ruled Out of Derby Day

It has been confirmed this evening that Ryan Christie is officially OUT of tomorrows Glasgow Derby fixture between Celtic and Rangers.

STV journalist, Ronnie Charters, confirmed that the club’s request had been denied from the Scottish Government because these are the clear rules in Scotland and we must stick by them.

Celtic's call to get Ryan Christie cleared to play rejected.

Scottish Government: “Our national guidance in Scotland is clear – if you are identified as a close contact of someone who has tested positive for covid-19, you will be asked to self-isolate immediately for 14 days.” https://t.co/i42R3vW4Ve

— Ronnie Charters (@STVRonnie) October 16, 2020

Most people expected the midfielder to be out after it was announced that whilst on Scotland international duty, Stuart Armstrong had contracted Covid-19 and both Christie, and former Celtic team-mate, Kieran Tierney was deemed ‘close contacts’ to the Southampton player.

However, both Tierney and Christie released a statement shortly after the news, denying that they had broken any protocol and felt it wasn’t right they were being forced to self-isolate for 14 days.

Neil Lennon was given some hope that Christie would be able to feature in the crucial fixture tomorrow, when it was announced that Tierney was now made available for Arsenal’s fixture tomorrow against Manchester City, meaning that his isolation had been cut short.

The club has been asking for answers as to why this shouldn’t be the same for the hoops player then, as both were in the same scenario.

Tonight though, their request has been denied and Christie, alongside Nir Bitton and Hatem Elhamed, will need to continue their self-isolation period and miss tomorrow’s fixture.

It would have been a good option to have for tomorrow but from the very start, it looked unlikely that the Scottish Government would allow the 25-year old to feature in any way.