FORMER Celtic star Thomas Gravesen has led the furious reaction from Denmark fans at Matt O’Riley’s shock omission from the international squad for the Euro 24 Finals in Germany.
The stylish playmaker was overlooked by Danish head coach Kasper Hjulmand when he announced his 26-man pool, as CQN reported yesterday.
The London-born Hoops star looked a certainty to be involved in the soccer extravaganza after his memorable season at Brendan Rodgers’ double-winning side where he swept the boards in the Player of the Year awards.
As well as providing 18 assists, O’Riley also fired in 19 goals to complete the crusade as the champions’ joint top scorer alongside Kyogo Furuhashi.
JUST CHAMPION…Matt O’Riley celebrates along with boss Brendan Rodgers after Celtic had sealed their third successive title with the 5-0 win over Kilmarnock at Rugby Park.
However, that was not enough to persuade Hjulmand to include the in-form 23-year-old midfielder in his travelling squad for the competition where Scotland, with Callum McGregor a certainty to play, kick off the action with the opener against the hosts a fortnight today.
The snub for O’Riley has sparked derision in Denmark and fuming Gravesen, who was brought by Gordon Strachan to Parkhead from Real Madrid in the summer of 2006 and remained for two years, was one of the first to hit out at the extraordinary decision.
The former middle-of-the-park operator, now 48, said: “I notice that Kasper Hjulmand does not deviate from his concept and his way of selecting players.
“He has again selected players who are not in shape, do not have rhythm and do not play on a daily basis.
“Hjulmand has selected the players he trusts and then we are back to the same song as we usually do.
“There are players I would much rather see in the national team than some of the players who have been injured or haven’t played at all.”
SUPER MATT…the Celtic star shows his delight after another Man of the Match performance.
Gravesen, speaking to local media sources, added: “We have a player who has helped win the championship in Scotland. A dominator, I am of course talking about Matt O’Riley.
“Why isn’t he there? He deserved a chance.
“Many of the players who are are sitting on the bench. They don’t play football. They are not in shape. Is Christian Eriksen at 80 percent? Or is he at 70 percent? Or 50? Or 20?
“We have no idea, because he doesn’t play, and that’s a problem. Christian Eriksen at top level is an exceptional player, but who is he at the moment?”
The Danes are due to play Slovenia on June 16, England four days later with the final Group H outing against Serbia on June 25.
