CELTIC star Reo Hatate’s bizarre warm-up routine has left fans absolutely baffled.
The Japanese midfielder was back in the Hoops’ starting line-up for the Old Firm derby against Rangers today after recently recovering from injury.
Hatate has become known for some of his odd rituals before matches, including walking on the pitch in his bare feet prior to warming up.
However he took things up a notch today, with punters absolutely baffled by his actions.
As Sky Sports showed clips of the players warming up at Ibrox, the cameras zoomed in on Hatate to focus on him as one of the difference makers.
The studio panel of Kris Boyd, Neil Lennon and James McFadden were discussing his impact in his comeback game against Livingston last week.
But they were left speechless as footage appeared on screen of the Celtic star bizarrely moving his hands up and down, with his index fingers pointing inward at one another.
After a few seconds of watching his hands go up and down at opposite times, Hatate then stops moving his hands, keeps his two fingers pointing inward and then moves them further away from each other, almost as though he was stretching an imaginary string.
What the 26-year-old was actually doing, and the benefits of it, are anyone’s guess.
Butm it didn’t stop fans on social media speculating.
Most read in Football
One said: “Hatate tapping in to the Matrix during the warm up.”
A second asked: “What is Reo Hatate doing here?”
Several other supporters posed similar questions, and not always in such a PG manner.
Before another joked: “‘What’s heavier, a kilogram of steel, or a kilogram of feathers?’ Reo Hatate: …”
In the game itself, Celtic took a shock lead after just 21 SECONDS.
An errant pass from Gers defender Dujon Sterling gave the ball away cheaply and Celtic took advantage.
A hopeful ball in behind should have been dealt with by James Tavernier but the Ibrox skipper’s clearance was careless and it ricocheted clean off Daizen Maeda and past a stunned Jack Butland.
Keep up to date with ALL the latest news and transfers at the Scottish Sun football page
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
