SFA's two-match ban for Christie described as "silly" by Celtic captain
Tuesday 7 January 2020 22:29, UK
Celtic captain Scott Brown says the SFA's decision to ban Ryan Christie for two matches is "laughable".
The suspension - for an incident involving Alfredo Morelos in the Old Firm derby on December 29 - was decided at an SFA disciplinary hearing at Hampden Park on Monday.
Christie clashed with Morelos and appeared to grab the Colombian's groin area in a heated match which also saw Morelos sent off.
Christie escaped with only a free kick during Rangers' 2-1 win at Celtic.
He was found guilty of committing "an act of brutality" which constitutes as violent conduct.
Celtic released a statement on Monday evening saying the club and Christie "are extremely disappointed at the outcome of the hearing".
Brown said: "Now you're going to have to watch where you put your hands when you tackle people, like with penalties now, you'll have to have your hands behind you.
Ryan didn't know where his hands were going, he's just trying to use his body to stop him.
"We don't want everyone phoning up the SFA and people getting pulled up. We need that consistency and the club has done the right thing by sticking by Ryan because we all think it's laughable.
"It's silly decisions like that, you can't accept that, and people are now going to worry about where everything goes when you go into tackles.
"Ryan didn't know where his hands were going, he's just trying to use his body to stop him."
