SPORT BOLINGOLI BETRAYAL ‘A KICK IN THE TEETH’
Livid Lennon will accept if Celtic cancel his contract SPFL rebuke ‘thoughtless’ breaches of Covid rules
FURIOUS Celtic manager Neil Lennon says he will leave the fate of “selfish” Boli Bolingoli up to the club as he detailed his anger at the player breaching Covid-19 travel restrictions by flying to Spain last week.
Lennon is apoplectic that Bolingoli failed to report his trip, and even came on as a substitute against Kilmarnock on Sunday having failed to adhere to quarantine guidelines.
Bolongoli has since tested negative for coronavirus, but Celtic’s match against St Mirren scheduled for tonight has been postponed along with Saturday’s game against Aberdeen.
That development has only served to anger Lennon’s further, and he says he is ready to accept whatever punishment Celtic hand down to his player, even if that means the termination of his contract.
“That will be down club,” Lennon said.
“That is not a question I am going to answer at the minute. I’ll have to wait and see what the disciplinary procedure of the club will be and take it from there.
“People may say ‘oh, he’s been stupid,’ but it’s not stupidity. This has been premeditated. You don’t book a flight to Spain on a whim. He knew exactly what he was doing. So, this has been quite calculated.
“It’s been totally disregarding of the outcome and the risks involved, so he will be dealt with to the
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NEIL DONCASTER, the SPFL chief executive, last night branded the “thoughtless and selfish” actions of the Aberdeen and Celtic players who have breached Covid-19 lockdown rules a “kick in the teeth” to Scottish football.
Doncaster was speaking after the SFA and SPFL Joint Response Group accepted a request from Minister for Public Health, Sport and Wellbeing Joe Fitzpatrick to postpone the Pittodrie and Parkhead clubs’ games this week.
The move comes after two Aberdeen players contracted coronavirus and six others had to go into quarantine after visiting a city centre bar – and Celtic defender Boli Bolingoli travelled to Spain without informing his club and then failed to self-isolate on his return.
“We have only been able to restart matches thanks to the enormous efforts and sacrifices of literally thousands of people across the Scottish game,” he said. “For anyone to put that in jeopardy in such a thoughtless and selfish manner is just beyond belief.
“The vast majority of players and officials who have strictly observed the necessary restrictions will rightly see this as a real kick in the teeth. Everyone knows that this season’s fixture schedule is already horrendously tight without having to reschedule matches because of the irresponsible actions of a handful of players.”