Celtic star makes bombshell claims that referee ‘wanted to send him off’ in crucial match…
DOMESTIC action took a back seat this week as Premiership stars focused on international fixtures.
Many players will have been in and around their country’s squads for Nations League games.
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But Alistair Johnston has been back home in Canada for some Concacaf Nations League action.
He is one of the first names on Brendan Rodgers‘ team sheet and he has put in some stellar performances to get his side on course for another treble.
He has faced the likes of Bayern Munich in the Champions League and saw his team match them for 90 minutes at the Allianz Arena.
But he has suffered defeats at Hibs and in the recent derby match against Rangers, as well as exiting Europe’s top competition.
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And during the week he played another 90 minutes of football, this time for his country in their 2-0 defeat against Mexico.
He picked up a booking just after the half hour mark, but has stated he thinks the referee wanted to send him off in the first half.
Speaking to One Soccer, he said: “It has been a great season for me, I don’t think there is any doubts about that, in terms of the number of matches I’ve played, some of the matches that I have played at the very highest level against Bayern Munich – seeing my team match up with them.
“It does bring a lot of pride to myself and my family back home, realising that I do belong on that field with them (in the Champions League).
“But, there has obviously been some ups and downs – it’s not always perfect. I have done a good job as I have gotten older to not really get caught up in the highs and the lows.
“Just try and keep it steady – it’s not as good as you think and it’s not as bad as you think.
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‘So, even when the results aren’t as good as you would necessarily like – and it has been exactly that with Celtic over the last month.
“It hasn’t been as easy as the start of the season. We are going through that patch and it’s the same with the national team.
“It’s not always going to be easy, the ref in that first half felt like he wanted to send me off at any possible moment but you just have to get through that.
“That is something I have learned and matured on the pitch, and off the pitch, in dealing with that kind of stuff.
“So when I sit back and get a break, and kind of look back on the year, I do think it will be my most successful calendar year of professional football and i am pretty proud of that.”
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