Ex-Rangers striker Kris Boyd moves to clarify Callum McGregor mask comments after Celtic addresses issues

Former Rangers striker Kris Boyd has moved to clarify comments he made in a newspaper column about Celtic’s Callum McGregor.

Boyd made reference to the fact that Celtic captain McGregor was wearing a protective mask during the 3-0 victory over Rangers on Wednesday night in his first match since since suffering a fractured cheekbone against Alloa in the Scottish Cup and appeared to insinuate he should have been targeted due to his facial injury.

In his column for The Scottish Sun, Boyd wrote: “Look at Celtic. Callum McGregor played with a fractured cheekbone. The fact he managed to get through the 90 minutes without anyone testing out that face mask is another story, but his commitment to the team was tremendous.”

The comments have caused uproar among Celtic fans on social media and the club responded by addressing the matter with a statement that read: "With regards to comments made by former professional footballer Kris Boyd concerning Callum McGregor's injury, we can confirm that the matter is currently being addressed by the club.”

Now Boyd has moved to clarify the situation.

He said: “My Old Firm column in today’s Scottish Sun appears to have irked some Celtic supporters.

“Therefore I think it’s right that I add some context and clarification to a reference I made about Callum McGregor.

“Callum McGregor wore a face mask in the Old Firm game

“I wrote: ‘The fact he managed to get through the 90 minutes without anyone testing out that face mask is another story, but his commitment to the team was tremendous.’

“Some have taken that line to mean I wanted one of the Rangers players to intentionally try and hurt the midfielder.

“However, that is absolutely and unequivocally NOT the case. It was simply meant as a criticism