Celtic hopes a man star Ryan Christie He may be awarded a dramatic reprieve at 11 pm to face Rangers at Parkhead on Saturday.
Sports Record It is understood that the heroes believe Christie should be released to participate in the first Old Firm Derby of the season even though government health officials ordered a two-week self-isolation 11 days in advance.
They are closely watching Arsenal’s attempt to do so Kieran Tierney Allowed for their Premier League encounter with Manchester City at the weekend.
Both Christy and Turney were instructed to leave the Scotland squad last week after former Celtic teammate Stuart Armstrong tested positive for Covid-19 ahead of the Night of Glory in the Euro 2020 semi-final against Israel.
While Armstrong will be available to pick for Southampton this weekend, after a 10-day quarantine period, Turney and Christy are instructed to remain under physical house arrest.
But today, Gunners boss Mikel Arteta insists he hopes to have Tierney on his team on the trip to the Union. Senior Celtic officers await developments as coach Neil Lennon prepares for a table showdown with his rivals in the city after he has already lost at least two players due to the coronavirus pandemic.
“We are still having some discussions with the authorities,” said the Arsenal coach.
“It gets very complicated when you send players abroad and it’s clear that you lose control.
“Some authorities have different regulations than the actual ones in the Premier League.”
Nir Biton and Hatem Al-Hamid will definitely be out, with the Israeli duo staying in their homeland after falling ill while performing international duty – while the attacking star was Odson Edward He may also miss the match after scoring a positive streak after reporting on duty with the French U-21.
And while Edward’s availability remains unclear, Celtic has not given up hope that Christie will be given the green light to play after a series of negative tests over the past week.
A source said, “We are watching the situation with Kieran and Arsenal closely but we have to wait to see how these discussions will go. Obviously, if Arsenal were given permission to play on Saturday, it would be difficult to understand why the same did not apply to Ryan.”
Curiously, there was no confirmation tonight of when Edward would return to Glasgow after completing a 10-day isolation period in Paris.
But Celtic moved quickly to charter a private jet and goalkeeper Vasilis Barkas will return to the country in the early hours of Friday morning after concerns that the new £ 5 million boy may be left stranded in Athens due to an air traffic control strike.
Barkas was seated on the bench as Greece drew 0-0 with Kosovo in the Nations League match on Wednesday night and was due to catch a 7am flight to Glasgow this morning.
But with two days of industrial strike set to begin in just an hour, Celtic has gone out to ensure it is not left on the ground in Athens.
Neil LennonHe, meanwhile, insists that football chiefs must reconsider player safety issues around Covid-19 during international breaks.
The manager told Sky Sports Scotland: “It can’t go as it is because we lose a lot of players. Not just us, but a lot of other clubs as well.
“Even states. Look at the Czech Republic for example, in the previous round they had to change the team completely.
“It completely reduces the quality and safety of the competition.
“It’s very hard for me to say that you are not going to play for your country, and that is something I would never want to do for a player.
But these are unprecedented times and we are in a very difficult situation.
“Even at home now, the virus appears to be escalating. So ideally, we don’t want them to travel, but we’re not going to point fingers at them and say you can’t go.”
