Bhoycie 
DUNDEE, SCOTLAND - APRIL 05: Celtic's Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain is dejected during a William Hill Premiership match between Dundee and Celtic at Dens Park, on April 05, in Dundee, Scotland. (Photo by Craig Foy/SNS Group via Getty Images)
Well, this is a bit embarrassing for all at Celtic.
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain is set to miss both legs of Celtic’s Champions League play-off against LASK because of a suspension which dates all the way back to his time with Beşiktaş.
The facts check out.
Oxlade-Chamberlain was handed a three-match UEFA club competition suspension following an incident against Lugano in December 2023.
UEFA’s own disciplinary records confirm the three-game punishment.
He never served it with Beşiktaş because he didn’t subsequently feature in Europe for them, meaning the suspension followed him to Celtic.
I think it means he has already effectively served one match because he was ineligible for Celtic’s Europa League knockout play-off last season, leaving two games outstanding — LASK home and away.
That is where this becomes slightly ridiculous.
Oxlade-Chamberlain was actually included in Celtic’s submitted 25-man squad for the LASK tie. Yet he cannot play in either game.
Bizarre that nobody has picked up on this.
How does Celtic, nor the player — an experienced Champions League winner — seemingly not have this flagged before now?
Celtic writer and podcaster John McGinley was among those highlighting the situation before it became widely reported.
He then reposted with Martin O’Neill’s quotes regarding the situation. Fair play!
And it caught me unawares when I was live on The Bhoycie Bus doing a watchalong on Saturday for the game.
Impressed by Oxlade-Chamberlain spraying the ball about confidently, I opined he might be a weapon we have to use for mid week.
Two viewers explained he was serving a ban still!
At a time when Celtic are already scrambling around trying to reshape the midfield after Arne Engels’ departure, discovering that another experienced midfielder is suspended for the two biggest games of the season is hardly ideal.
As administrative oversights go, this is a pretty ridiculous one to of made.
He was included in the squad to use up his suspension for when we are in the champions league proper if we get there .
i don`t think you need to be included in a squad to use up a suspension. He
is serving his sentence by not being allowed to be picked.
Maybe O`Neill feels it will be easier to withdraw someone who can`t play, so as to add a new signing, rather than disappoint an eligible player he has already picked.
Under UEFA’s strict disciplinary and competition rules, a match only counts toward fulfilling a player’s ban if that player is fully eligible to have played in it. If a club leaves a suspended player off their European squad list, the tournament matches played by the team will not count toward the ban, and the 3-match suspension will remain frozen until they are registered.
Just as well we have a leading sports lawyer on our board.