ADAM MATTHEWS will this weekend walk a disciplinary tightrope which could cost him his first chance to play in a cup final for Celtic.

And the most annoying aspect for the Hoops defender is that this is despite him having collected only ONE booking since he moved to Parkhead last summer.

Unfortunately for Matthews, that caution came in the first Scottish Communities League Cup tie Neil Lennon’s side played, against Ross County way back in September.

But, under the rules of the competition, players with clubs like Celtic – who entered at the third round – are suspended for just two bookings.

So if Matthews collects another caution in Sunday’s semi-final against Falkirk, he will incur a one-game ban which would rule him out of the final, should the Hoops get there.

The only other two Celtic players to have been booked in the League Cup this season are Daniel Majstorovic and Beram Kayal.

The Swede is back in contention for a return after recovering from a broken cheekbone, but Kayal’s season is already over due to injury.

Lennon will consider the risk to Matthews and Majstorovic before deciding on his line-up for Sunday’s tie. He knows one mis-timed tackle could be enough to rule them out of the final.

Meantime, the Park-head side are closing in on Real Betis striker Jorge Molina.

However, Celtic would need to negotiate for the player, with some directors at the Spanish club slapping a £5m price tag on his head. The club are currently £60m in debt and in administration, which would strengthen Celtic’s hand.

"We understand that Celtic’s John Park has been in talks with Betis about Jorge," said a source close to Molina.

"If the club are pre-pared to sell him then he would be very interested in discussions with Celtic. But it is still very early."

The 29-year-old has scored 46 goals in the last two-and-a-half seasons and cost Real Betis just £1.5m when they signed him from Spanish min-nows Elche in June, 2010.

On matters off the field, Celtic will have to wait before discovering the extent of the punish-ment they will face from Uefa after fans displayed an offensive banner in Italy last month.

A backlog of cases meant that yesterday’s expected verdict was delayed. The outcome could of the hearing could be later today or it may well drag on until next week.