IT’S A TURN OFF
LENNON: Sad to see this match minus fans
NEIL LENNON admits he’ll be saddened to witness the first- ever Glasgow derby to be played behind closed doors.
Some 132 years after Celtic and Rangers first l ocked horns, the world- renowned f i xture will be played in front of no supporters as a consequence of the coronavirus pandemic.
Pushed back as late as possible in the calendar to give supporters every chance of attending, the recent tightening of restrictions to control Covid-19 has meant diehard fans of both clubs will be forced to watch it on TV.
And Lennon, a 20-year veteran of the game as player and manager, feels the sense of emptiness for everyone concerned will be palpable.
‘It will be sad but, once the kick-off
comes, your focus is on the game itself, just as it always is,’ he said. ‘But yeah, there will be part of me which thinks: “God, this just doesn’t feel right”. But you have to get past that very quickly. It’s just the way things have panned out. I still believe spectators could and should be coming to the matches but that’s the government’s decision to make, not mine. ‘I look around Europe and, when Finland played the Republic of Ireland, they had 7,000 in their stadium. Just to have that kind of foothold would be good.’ Lennon will be without Nir Bitton and Hatem Abd Elhamed today after the pair tested positive for the virus while on international duty with Israel. Odsonne Edouard returned to Scotland yesterday after contracting Covid at the France Under-21 camp and will be assessed before a decision on his involvement is made. Ryan Christie will definitely be missing, however, with hopes of getting his 14-day quarantine period reduced ended by the Scottish Government last night. Celtic had hoped Christie (right) would be able to play a part in the match — citing Kieran Tierney’s possible involvement for Arsenal against Manchester City. Both players were identified as close contacts of Stuart Armstrong following the Southampton man’s positive test while on Scotland duty and ordered to quarantine for 14 days. While Tierney’s club were last night ‘hopeful’ of getting that period cut by English authorities, Celtic were blocked in their attempts to secure a dispensation for their player. A Scottish Government spokesperson said: ‘Our national guidance in Scotland is clear — if you are identified as a close contact of someone who has tested positive for coronavirus (Covid-19), you will be asked to self-isolate for 14 days.’ Speaking earlier in the day, Lennon said: ‘We have been asking about Ryan for the last week or so and have met resistance. ‘Arsenal have been given permission for Kieran to be in their squad so we are rightly confused. ‘We want answers to some questions and I am sure our supporters will be the same. You can’t have one allowed to play and one not, so we are confused. ‘He has tested negative twice now. He has no symptoms and has been training on a treadmill. There is no reason why he can’t be available. We just want to know, if Kieran can make it, why can’t Ryan?’ Asked if Celtic had been given an explanation for the apparent anomaly, Lennon replied: ‘We haven’t been given a reason, it’s just on the protocol basis. ‘The lads maintain they were social distancing from Stuart, 2.8 metres away. ‘They are sort of guilty by association more than anything and we feel it’s over the top. Arsenal have had the go-ahead from the digital/cultural people in England. They have gone through a
different line of inquiry and won their case, if you want to call it that. But we met a lot of resistance to ours.’ Asked about the prospect of Edouard playing, Lennon said: ‘His symptoms were like mild cold symptoms. He was feeling very tired and wasn’t able to do anything. We’ll know more later when he’s assessed. ‘Bitton was flat out with it the last couple of days, but he’s starting to feel better, while Elhamed is isolating back in Israel.’ Albian Ajeti looks set to play some part, with the Swiss striker on the mend after a hamstring strain. ‘He’s trained the last couple of days,’ added Lennon. ‘He’s been out for three weeks, so he’ll definitely be in the squad anyway.’