RYAN CHRISTIE admits he felt like the SFA were going to JAIL him over his Old Firm charge.
The Celtic star was banned for grabbing Alfredo Morelos’ genitals.
Christie branded his three-game suspension BIZARRE and revealed he couldn’t even remember the incident that saw ref Kevin Clancy reach for a yellow card.
He said: “I’ve heard guys talking about going into these hearings to fight decisions, but I’ve never done it.
“It was very strange, something I’ve never been part of before.
“It was so serious, it felt like I was in a proper court case — like I was going away to jail if I was found guilty!
“I first heard about my charge when my mate sent me through a screenshot. I thought it was a joke — a wind-up.
“I couldn’t even remember the incident, I said that to the panel.
“It wasn’t until I watched the footage back that I even realised my hand had gone there.
“That’s what I said in my defence, as soon as a player goes past you, your first reaction is to try to get your body, or something, between them and the ball.
“It just so happened my hand went there.
“As soon as the game was done, it wasn’t even a thought. Maybe ten seconds after that tackle it was out of my head.
“He took the ball past me, it was an obvious foul, but it was all very strange when I got called back up.
“It was pretty bizarre to me, and I’ve had plenty of people from across the football map get in touch and express their feelings about it as well.
“But it’s in the past I suppose, and hopefully it’s my last suspension of the season.”
PEN TORTURE Celtic star Ryan Christie insists pain of Rangers penalty miss was far worse than his groin surgery
Christie hopes to feature for Celtic against old club Aberdeen in Sunday’s lunchtime clash.
The Hoops have taken a major step towards the title in recent weeks but the Scotland star is taking nothing for granted.
He said: “One of the first things the gaffer said to us after beating Hearts on Wednesday was that we can’t get carried away.
“We know how big a game this is and we need to keep rolling out wins.
MOST READ
“Playing for Aberdeen I always used to fancy our chances no matter who we were playing, especially in the big games like this.
“Aberdeen will make it hard but we got a very good 4-0 result up there earlier in the season.
“I’m sure they will be changing things so we don’t do that again. They will make it tough.”
Keep up to date with ALL the latest news and transfers at the Scottish Sun football page