Former Celtic striker Giorgos Giakoumakis will miss out on his MLS debut today after a red tape delay prevented him from gaining his visa.

The Greek striker joined Atlanta United a couple of weeks ago and was expected to make his bow against San Jose Earthquakes in the season opener.

Giakoumakis has aimed a series of digs at the quality and lack of competitiveness of the Scottish Premiership since his arrival in the States.

But he's been left frustrated after a delay in processing his visa meant he won't be able to start his new career in the American top flight.

Atlanta United head coach Gonzalo Pineda said: "Unfortunately,  Giorgos Giakoumakis will be unavailable for the match."

It's a huge blow for Giakoumakis, who was desperate to impress with his new team and has come as a surprise for his club, with CEO Garth Lagerwey predicting earlier this week he would be able to play.

He said: "We are really excited about the signing, but we are still waiting on his work permit.

"We are very hopeful we will be ok to be eligible for opening day."

The 28-year-old will now hope the paperwork comes through on time for next week when his new club play Toronto FC.

Meanwhile, Celtic captain Callum McGregor expects the pain of last season’s Hampden defeat by Rangers to live with him forever.

So he is determined to give everything to ensure there is no repeat for himself, his team-mates and the Celtic supporters on Sunday when the rivals meet again in the Viaplay Cup final.

Celtic were edging closer towards a potential treble when Greg Taylor opened the scoring in last season’s Scottish Cup semi-final but Rangers fought back to win the game in extra-time and went on to lift the trophy.

It was the second defeat McGregor had experienced against Rangers at the same stage but he has also scored in two semi-final wins over the Light Blues and he tasted success in the 2019-20 League Cup final derby.

“When you lose a big game like that, of course it hurts you and it stays with you probably for the rest of your career, the rest of your life,” the 29-year-old said.

“But it’s important that when you get a chance to try and rectify that, you give absolutely everything to put that right and, probably most importantly, to put it right for the supporters as well.

“So of course we have that added motivation that they got one over us last time at Hampden and we will try and fix that.

“But the only way to fix that is to stay calm and focused on what we have been doing, approach the game in the right way, and come Sunday we have to turn up and do all the right things to win the game.”