“Disgrace”; Celtic fans surprised with Israel’s decision to play Nir Bitton; Lennon won’t be happy

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The Celtic supporters have been reacting to Nir Bitton’s selection tonight for Israel as he takes part in their Euro 2020 playoff against Scotland.

Neil Lennon had stated in the build-up to the clash that it would be “impossible” for the centre-back to feature against Steve Clarke’s side (Daily Record).

However, Israel manager Willibald Ruttensteiner hinted that he would be starting him in any case, stating at his pre-match press conference that Bitton was fit and available to play (Scottish Sun).

And he’s stuck by that too, throwing him into starting line-up this evening. Yet even though he’s come through the first half unscathed, the Hoops supporters weren’t overly pleased with the decision:

https://twitter.com/mondo_christie/status/1314263235982438406

https://twitter.com/underagemaddog/status/1314260369309827073

https://twitter.com/LewisLaird01/status/1314258994404392964

Not a good look

We’ll be as happy as anyone else if Bitton is genuinely fit and ready to play. After all, we could do with him being ready for the Rangers and AC Milan games after the international break. But something about this stinks.

This is a player who is supposed to be recovering. Bitton should be looking at the fixtures we have coming up and ensuring that he’s as fit as possible for his employer. The fact he’s playing tonight doesn’t look good on him either.

It doesn’t effect anything that he’s gotten through the first 45 without any noticeable hitches. The fact is both the Israel manager and Bitton himself have decided to go against what was clearly Lennon’s wishes. It’s important to remember who pays the wages here.

Then you have to take into consideration how this makes Lennon look. By playing here, Bitton has made the manager look extremely foolish. It doesn’t matter how big a game tonight’s Euro 2020 qualifier is for Israel – the risk taken here just isn’t on.

There’s an argument to say that Lennon maybe simply misdiagnosed things. But that’s also likely total nonsense. The Celtic manager will know exactly how Bitton left Lennoxtown, and he clearly wasn’t in great nick.

Don’t be surprised if Lennon is having some strong words with him upon his return to training. All we can do as supporters is pray nothing is aggravated in the second 45, or in any of Israel’s next two games after this.

In other news, one of the club’s most promising youngsters has been provided with a necessary blow as a new man takes his spot.