RYAN CHRISTIE answered the Call of Duty for Scotland.
Little did he know a computer game would rule him out of the play-off with Israel and the Old Firm clash.
Celtic star Christie, 25, went through Covid-19 hell after NHS Lothian put him in isolation following pal Stuart Armstrong’s positive result.
He has now called for more common sense, and claimed his quarantine became ridiculous after he returned six NEGATIVE tests.
His frustration increased when Arsenal ace Kieran Tierney was cleared to play last weekend while he sat out the Rangers defeat.
That was hard to take for Christie, who believes Scotland’s health chiefs need to be more flexible with football.
After undergoing two operations to fix freak injuries last year, the forward is starting to think he’s jinxed.
Christie said: “It was the first thing my dad said when I called him, that somebody’s out to get me!
“When I was on Scotland duty, I was following every single protocol.
“We’ve done it since June at club level, so it’s not as if we go away for internationals and throw all that in the bin.
“It is frustrating when you do that and it still comes back to bite you.
“I was in the room with Stuart and KT playing Call of Duty, and the crazy thing is we were socially distanced. It wasn’t like we were on one TV or one PlayStation.
“One of us was on one side of the room, one was in the middle facing one way, and the other facing a different way.
“We had all the headsets on and everything. We weren’t even looking at each other to speak. Before the decision was made, and we were speaking to the government, the Scotland guys measured the distance between the seats.
“It was 3.8 metres. In previous camps we were told by the international doctor it was OK to do that.
“It was very frustrating to have been punished for it. The first few days were very hard, realising I was going to miss a good few games.
“When I realised I would miss the Israel game I was gutted. Then I also missed one of the biggest games of the club season.
“I was just left staring at four walls, and you go through good spells and bad spells.
“I had all the stuff delivered to keep up with my fitness, but the hardest part was when the football came on TV. I was thinking, ‘I should be part of this’.”
News that Tierney was allowed to exit quarantine early by the Premier League made Christie feel worse.
He added: “I have no idea why KT was allowed to play for his club and I wasn’t.
“I think there was a more open communication between the governing bodies down there, in terms of the chief medical officer and the Premier League.
“They were in talks with the doctor at Arsenal and everybody was OK about it because KT had tested negative so many times.
“I think it was just about more common sense down there.
“It’s frustrating when you are in the same boat as someone and they get to play at the weekend and I still have to miss out.
“I was in constant communication with Celtic about what we could do to talk to the government and the bodies who decide these things.
“I was tested six times over that period and every single one of them came back negative.
“Should the governing bodies look at an early release in cases like this? In my opinion, yes.
“I get it in normal walks of life, when people come into contact with someone who has tested positive and have to isolate.
“It is different because they are not getting tested as regularly as we are, or in as controlled an environment as we are.
“You can see how restrictive it is, how many rules are in place, how many protocols we follow.
“When someone was coming to test me every morning, and the next day I’m getting a text saying I’m negative again, I was left thinking, ‘How long does this really need to go on for before it is getting a bit ridiculous?’.
“I know there’s a so-called bedding- in period for the virus.
“But you need to wonder does it go beyond common sense when I need to stay in, despite constant negative tests.”
Christie, who faces old club Aberdeen tomorrow, has always followed protocols closely. But he is more wary now.
He said: “It opened my eyes to it, in terms of not doing anything wrong and still being liable and being punished.
“You know you need to be very wary. Even if you are following the guidelines, you maybe need to go that extra step further.
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“I’ll certainly be more aware of it going forward, that’s for sure.”
Christie made his comeback against AC Milan in the Europa League.
He added: “If I had missed one more big game my head would have just about fallen off. It was nice to be back out there, but frustrating not to get a result.
“The upcoming run of games is amazing, they are all ones you want to be part of. I’m looking forward to being involved in all of them now, especially the Aberdeen match.
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“I’ve got a bit of history there, and we want to get back to winning ways.
“When you’re sat on the couch watching games it motivates you to come back and help the team.”
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