Celtic have 13 players in self-isolation
The criticism just keeps on coming for Celtic in the wake of the PR disaster that was their trip to Dubai.
Monday’s news that 13 players, along with manager Neil Lennon and assistant John Kennedy, were having to self-isolate after Christopher Jullien tested positive for Covid-19 has led to condemnation from all corners.
Although Celtic’s game against Hibs is still scheduled to take place, the champions will likely take part with a depleted side.
Many fans were unimpressed with the optics of a Celtic side that had just gone 19 points behind Rangers after losing at Ibrox immediately heading off to Dubai, while First Minister Nicola Sturgeon expressed unease at such a journey being undertaken at the height of the pandemic.
Rangers legend Terry Butcher believes the negative reaction has been entirely justified.
Speaking on Football Pass, the former England international said: “I just thought that somebody with any common sense at Celtic would have stood back from things and said, ‘Well at the time it was alright to go, but was it really the right time to go?’.
“In the situation we’re in where there’s new variants, with cases always rising and deaths rising etc. I think at the end of the day it may have cost Celtic a bit of money but it has certainly cost them more than just money now.
“They’re getting absolute pelters from everybody, and quite rightly so for going.
“It’s a trip that should never have happened, no matter what the circumstances were, because to do that and show a disregard for people that are sacrificing a lot to stay in and are shielding and all this kind of thing as well, just sends out the wrong signals really.
“It’s come back to bite them really, when you think about it, with this new positive Covid test, but I just think from a common sense point of view, it should never have happened in the first place.
“They should have just cut it and said ‘Right, we were going to go, it was right to go from the Government point of view and from protocol point of view, but we’re not going to do it.
“We’ve got more important issues here to try and get back to winning ways.”
Celtic are currently 22 points behind rivals Rangers in the title race, albeit with four games in hand.
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