GUTTED Ryan Christie blasted Russian referee Sergei Karasev for landing him with yet another suspension.
Christie will miss Celtic’s Europa League second-leg clash with FC Copenhagen next week after being booked for handball following a VAR penalty call in the Danish capital.
He’s already been suspended this season for his red card at Livingston and landed a two-game retrospective SFA ban for violent conduct after his Old Firm grab at Alfredo Morelos.
Fraser Forster saved the spot-kick in the Parken Stadium, but Christie said: “The frustrating thing about the award is to get the yellow card afterwards.
“I don’t know what the rule is, but I’ve been booked for a deliberate handball and I think everyone can see it’s definitely not deliberate. I was just using my arms to jump.
“It’s a shame I’ll now miss the second leg. It feels like again I’m getting a suspension for something I don’t think is right.”
Christie also claimed Celtic were unlucky that a handball in the build-up to the home side’s goal was missed by the officials.
He said: “I knew the ball had hit my hand and it came down to whether he interpreted that as deliberate.
“I’ve been told the rules are that if it hits my hand it’s a penalty.
“The ball’s come in and I’m jumping to challenge the player I’m marking.
“You’re desperate for your player not to score, so I was doing as much as I could.
“I’m honest enough to say it hit my hand, it’s a handball and if the ref thinks I’m stopping a goal, he’s got the right to give it.
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“But there was a handball in the build-up to their goal which wasn’t looked at, so the consistency about VAR is the frustrating thing.
“Everyone speaks about VAR, but hopefully next week it’ll be on our side.”
Christie will be hoping his team-mates finish the job even though he’ll sit it out.
He said: “It’s a tough one to analyse.
“We knew before the game what their threats were, we knew about the atmosphere in the stadium, but we always fancy ourselves going forward and scoring goals.
“After the first half we were sitting in the dressing room at the break feeling confident about how it had gone.
“We felt like we could go out and create more chances, but that didn’t really happen. We failed to have that kind of domination of possession.
“It was frustrating because Copenhagen came out of the traps and got right in about us.
“We just missed that ability to take a breath and relax and keep possession when needed.
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“In the end we did well to hold on. We defended well when we needed to and we’ve got an away goal which is obviously crucial going into the second leg of the tie.
“We have to take confidence from how we started and also the fact we’re playing at Celtic Park, knowing we can have a better domination of the game and dictate the tempo the way we want to a bit more.
“We have a confidence coming away from home, but that’s really enhanced when we’re under the European lights at Celtic Park. The boys will be looking forward to that.
“I can’t play and help the cause, but hopefully the boys can see us over the line.
“It’s very tough to watch, unfortunately. I’ve missed too many games since the start of this season, but I’ll be there supporting them, for sure.
“I felt as though I was playing well, it was my first proper game in a while and my legs were heavy in the last 10-15 minutes, but you’re always going to get that in European games.
“But we’ve a really big game on Sunday once again, so we have to get back now and prepare properly for that.”