NICK DE MARCO REVELS IN CELTIC VERDICT AS BRENDAN RODGERS HEARING LAWYER VOWS 'I'LL BE BACK AT PARKHEAD'

Top lawyer Nick DeMarco has described his joy at getting an opportunity to represent Celtic in court at the hearing to determine Brendan Rodgers' punishment for his rant at the officials during the 2-0 loss to Hearts at Tynecastle earlier this month.

In the immediate aftermath of the defeat, Hoops boss Rodgers openly criticised both on-field referee Don Robertson and John Beaton for their decision to upgrade the initial yellow card shown to South Korean international Yang Hyun-jun to a sending off for a challenge on Jambos full back Alex Cochrane. The Irishman was further incensed when Tomoki Iwata was penalised for a handball inside the Celtic box that allowed Hearts midfielder Jorge Grant to step up and net the crucial opening goal.

As Record Sport told you on Wednesday, the Parkhead giants then drafted in sports lawyer DeMarco, who has been described by finance expert Kieran Maguire as the ‘football law version of Lionel Messi’, to defend their manager at today's disciplinary hearing at Hampden.

Rodgers has been handed a one match ban with an additional suspended fixture, meaning he won't be in the dugout for Sunday's trip to face Livingston, but crucially will be free to return for the huge Premiership title clash in the Old Firm derby against Rangers at Ibrox seven days later.

The club have voiced their disappointment at the SFA's decision but add that they will comply with the outcome. And taking to social media, London-based DeMarco has shared his pride at getting to work on the club's behalf and says he hopes to watch the team in person in the near future.

Writing on X, he said: "A pleasure, as ever, to represent Celtic FC and Brendan at today’s hearing. I’m looking forward to getting back up to watch a match at Celtic Park soon again. #Celtic"

2024-03-28T17:40:05Z dg43tfdfdgfd