Hibs’ request for further testing turned down

Hibernian’s request to the Scottish Professional Football League and Celtic to carry out extra Covid-19 tests was refused ahead of their meeting at Parkhead last night.

The Hoops’ plans were thrown into chaos when manager Neil Lennon and a host of players had to isolate after returning from a mid-season trip to Dubai.

Hibs asked for extra tests for the Celtic squad to give their players peace of mind ahead of the Scottish Premiership clash but were refused and told not fulfilling the fixture would have “severe consequences”.

Scottish Football Association chief executive Ian Maxwell believes Celtic may be considering the impact of their trip.

Maxwell was at pains to stress that Celtic were given approval by the Scottish Government for the trip through the elite athlete exemption.

“It is not our permission to give,” he said, before adding: “They now find themselves in a position which they would not want to be in under any circumstances in terms of the positive case, the number of close contracts identified.

“It is fair to say that if Celtic had been at home they would still potentially have had one positive case but it would have been one player missing.

“And that is the danger of travelling abroad, there is a lot more inherent risk involved from a close contact perspective because of the travel on planes and buses.

“So from that perspective I am sure Celtic are revisiting the requirement to go and the decision that they made to go, and that is something for them to reflect on, given the fallout there has been.”