Lisbon Lion Stevie Chalmers was denied the Scotland caps he deserved due to "politics", according to team-mate Jim Craig.
The legendary Celtic striker passed away aged 83 on Monday to plunge the club into mourning for the second time in seven days following Billy McNeill's death last week.
Tributes have again flooded in for another member of the iconic 1967 European Cup-winning squad and Craig was among those to honour his friend.
He believes Chalmers was worthy of much more than the five international appearances he was given between 1964 and 1966 and claims he wasn't selected on the basis the powers-that-be didn't want to select too many Celtic players.
Craig told BBC Sportsound: "There was a lot of politics involved at the time.
"You couldn't have a team of 11 Celts, because you wouldn't get much of a crowd.
"So you've got to take all that into account and that's why Stevie only got a very paltry selection of caps.
"Thank God it's a lot different now and your background doesn't matter so much, it's your keenness to play for the jersey."
Celtic boss Neil Lennon pays personal tribute to Stevie Chalmers
Chalmers scored the famous goal that defeated Inter Milan in Lisbon but Craig insists he will simply be remembered as a decent human being.
Asked what his defining memory of Chalmers will be, Craig answered: "Just a nice guy. All of us who have played football have been lucky enough to continue to play at professional level, something you loved as a kid.
"And for Stevie to score that winning goal, it's something that he would've dreamed about all that time."
