Thompson blasts Austrians

Celtic midfielder Alan Thompson has hit out at Austrian side Flavia Solva after the Hoops’ 3-1 pre-season friendly win.

David Fernandez scored twice in the second half to seal the win before Shaun Maloney grabbed the third.

But Thompson received a yellow card during the game and was left unimpressed by the opposition's play-acting and the performance of the referee.

Thompson said: ‘‘There were a few of them being shot out there, wasn’t there?

‘‘To be honest, it gets frustrating when you have people squealing after tackles.

‘‘But the referee wasn’t great. I couldn’t believe it when he didn’t give us a penalty in the first half - I just looked at him and laughed.

‘‘The lads get frustrated because of all the acting. When you see them lying on the floor and then getting up without a limp, it is pretty hard to stomach.

‘‘The way they were going down they should be out of action for at least six weeks.’’

Celtic manager Martin O’Neill is hoping he can tie Bulgarian midfielder Stilian Petrov and striker Shaun Maloney to the club with extended contracts.

O’Neill said: ‘‘I would assume the contracts are little more than a formality now.

‘‘We were looking to improve Stilian’s contract in any case, but he’s still got another three years to run so it is not a major worry.

‘‘As for Shaun, he has done very well. He knows how difficult it’s going to be to break into the side but he is capable of doing it.

‘‘His attitude is top class and I shouldn’t imagine sorting out his contract will be a major problem.’’