CELTIC HAVE LOST THE PLOT
Club’s decision to fly to Dubai was ‘slap in the face’ to those affected by Covid-19 Now Sturgeon could be ready to throw book at the whole Scottish game
JUST when Cel t i c thought their season couldn’t possibly get any wor s e , their controversial trip to Dubai has now backfired on them spectacularly.
The news that one of their players has tested positive for coronavirus represents yet another embarrassing episode for Celtic — and the club ought to be ashamed of how they’ve handled this.
Why? Because even their own assistant manager John Kennedy admitted over the weekend that there had been some ‘slip-ups’ around Covid regulations and social-distancing during the trip.
When I heard the news yesterday, there was a part of me which almost wasn’t surprised. This has turned into the season from hell for Celtic as they’ve lurched from one disaster to another.
What on earth are we to make of those comments from Kennedy? They are symptomatic of a club who are so out of touch with reality, it almost beggars belief.
Put yourself in the shoes of a Celtic fan who has sadly lost a friend or family member to Covid. Or a Celtic fan who knocks their pan in working for an NHS which is now at breaking point.
This is an absolute slap in the face to everyone whose lives have been so tragically impacted by this virus over the past year.
Right from the outset, it would all have been so avoidable had Celtic done the right thing and pulled the plug on the trip to Dubai.
Yeah, by the letter of the law, they weren’t breaking any rules by flying out to the Emirates. But that’s a bit of a cop-out when you look at the bigger picture.
Restrictions were cranked up across Scotland back on Boxing Day as Covid rates spiralled out of control once again.
By the time Celtic played Rangers at Ibrox last weekend, it was glaringly obvious we were heading into a new lockdown before First Mini s t e r Ni c o l a St u r g e o n announced it officially last Monday.
As one of the biggest institutions in the country, Celtic had a moral obligation to the rest of society. They had the chance to set an example and do the right thing.
But they have failed miserably. They had ample opportunity to cancel the training camp and their failure to do so speaks of a club which has lost touch with reality.
Listen, don’t get me wrong, I’ve been there as a Celtic player. When you lose an Old Firm match, you want to go and lock yourself in a dark room. The f all- out and reaction can be poisonous.
You will do anything to escape the Glasgow goldfish bowl. Some of the abuse which can be directed towards people can be appalling, as we’ve seen with the slurs aimed at Nir Bitton.
I would have loved to escape from it all and fly out to Dubai to get a bit of sun on my back for a week and put in some really good fitness work.
But none of my defeats as a Celtic player came against the backdrop of a global pandemic and the worst health crisis of a generation.
Sometimes you need to read the room — and that’s where Celtic have let themselves and their supporters down.
Let’s not f orget, these are the people who forked out hundreds of pounds to buy season tickets for games which they now won’t ever be able to attend.
I find it astonishing how badly the club have got this wrong. The Scottish Government, the SFA and the SPFL could throw the book at them — and, frankly, Celtic wouldn’t have a leg to stand on.
The damage Celtic have caused is entirely self-inflicted — but it may yet have wider ramifications for the rest of the clubs and the rest of the season as a whole.
Let’s be honest, Nicola Sturgeon rarely needs a second invitation to stick the boot in to Scottish football. I fully expect her to give Celtic both barrels over this.
After the Boli Bolingoli and Aberdeen Eight episodes back in August, the First Minister declared that she was giving Scottish football a yellow card.
This is the kind of episode which could easily see her upgrade that to red and put the Premiership back into shutdown.
She reiterated her firm stance on the matter just last week when she declared that ‘all bets are off ’ if clubs fail to adhere to Covid protocols and r e s pect t he privileges afforded to them.
If more Celtic players end up testing positive over the next few days, it could easily put the season in danger given the narrative around the trip to Dubai.
If I was a Hibs player, I wouldn’t want to be going anywhere near Celtic Park tonight. Jack Ross and his players would be well within their rights to refuse to play.
If the game does go ahead, what this has done ultimately is just heap massive pressure on Celtic when the training camp was intended for them to recharge, r efresh and press t he r eset button.
If they’ve worked as hard as what we’ve been told and got their fitness levels up, they should be flying around Parkhead like Usain Bolt tonight. They’ve got no excuses now.
Neil Lennon has spoken several times this season of how some of the players haven’t been match fit. Albian Ajeti and Leigh Griffiths have been chief among them.
Those players simply have to be up to speed now. They have to find some fluency and go on a long winning run. If they don’t, hell mend t hem. The f ans wil l absolutely hammer them.
They effectively need to win every single game from now until the end of the season to even have the slightest chance of catching Rangers, who just keep charging on at the top of the table.
Steven Gerrard’s side were by no means at their best against Aberdeen yesterday, but they still l ooked f airly comfortable in winning at Pittodrie.
It was also quite telling to see both Gerrard and Steven Davis wearing face masks during their post-match interviews with Sky Sports.
The Ibrox club were clearly making a s t a t e ment and reaffirming their commitment to following the protocols.
If only everyone else had done the same.
If I was a Hibs player, I would not be going near Celtic Park tonight