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Seething Celtic have demanded answers from Sky Sports after their interview with Alfredo Morelos was exposed as fantasy.

The Rangers striker supposedly accused Celtic fans of racially abusing him as he made his way off the pitch after being sent off in the last Old Firm derby at Parkhead.

But it later emerged what he actually said bears little resemblance to what was reported by the broadcasters – with Morelos making no mention of racism in connection with Celtic.

And we understand it wasn’t Sky who translated the interview.

(Image: Daily Record)

Sky Sports later deleted the interview from their website after being contacted by Record Sport to highlight the glaring inaccuracies in their big exclusive.

At around 3pm yesterday Sky told Record Sport they were conducting a probe into the embarrassing episode.

Two hours later, Celtic called for the broadcaster to clarify the differences between what was presented as Morelos’ comments and what he really said.

A club statement read: “Celtic Football Club has today asked Sky Sports to conduct an investigation into an interview broadcast yesterday, which accused Celtic supporters of racist behaviour.

“Translations provided to Celtic Football Club have shown inconsistencies between the words spoken during the interview broadcast and the subtitles used by Sky Sports.

“In particular, and most concerning, while the broadcaster used the following subtitle on screen: ‘Afterwards it was very frustrating to hear the crowd screaming at me. They were saying offensive and racist words’.

“Mr Morelos does not use these words anywhere within the extended interview which has been broadcast across Sky’s platforms.

“Celtic FC has asked Sky Sports to clarify their position on this matter.”

(Image: SNS Group)

A full transcript of the 1000-plus word interview was published on the Sky Sports website along with an accompanying video and subtitles at 6am on Monday morning.

But as footage was shared on social media platforms, Spanish speakers questioned the correlation between Morelos’ comments and the subtitles accompanying what was broadcast by Sky.

And despite being quoted as attacking Celtic fans for racially abusing it emerged the 23-year-old striker made no direct reference to Hoops supporters aiming offensive chants towards him.

The interview – the first from Morelos outside of club media since he came to Scotland – was conducted by Sky reporter Craig Slater at the club’s Hummel Training Centre last week.

A spokesman told Record Sport: “We are aware of concerns raised about the content of the interview with Alfredo Morelos, while we are checking those we have removed the material from all our platforms.”

The Rangers striker is said to have only a cursory grasp of English and spoke in detail about life in Glasgow using his mother tongue of Spanish.

(Image: SNS Group)

According to the Sky Sports interview, Morelos said: “In the match against Celtic we were winning in added time. I fell down. Whether that is simulation or not is up to the referee.

“Afterwards it was very frustrating to hear the crowd screaming at me. They were saying offensive and racist words.”

But what he really said was: “Against Celtic, we were winning 2-0. I don’t know if I fell or whatever but I wasn’t trying to win a penalty.

“The referee decided to send me off. That’s fine, that’s his decision. But the gesture I made wasn’t racist.”

South American football expert Simon Edwards, based in Morelos’ native Colombia, took to social media to call it the “the worst translation I have ever seen in my life”.

And he added: “This Morelos situation gives a fascinating insight into how ineptitude, a lack of due diligence and pushing an established narrative can lead to a complete distortion of the truth.

“That is not to say some Celtic fans may not also be guitly of vile, racist abuse but Morelos is careful to discuss incidents rather than make it an attack on a particular club.

“He was diplomatic and careful in his choice of words but that didn’t stop the story focusing on Celtic.”

The champions added: “Celtic, a club open to all since its inception, abhors racism. Our consistent stance is that wherever racism exists it should be tackled head on. Celtic will always investigate any report of racist behaviour and take appropriate action. This is a standard which all clubs should meet.

“Celtic needs no encouragement to pursue racism, particularly as players and management at the club have suffered abuse persistently over the years. The seriousness of such cases has been confirmed with the prosecution and criminal convictions of some of the perpetrators.

“Celtic is proud of the wonderful reputation earned by its supporters over many years in many countries and at home. The club owes it to them to act in a responsible, dignified and professional manner and to treat racism with the seriousness it deserves.”