Celtic chief Peter Lawwell made a controversial claim as he apologised for his club’s trip to Dubai
Ally McCoist has criticised Peter Lawwell over his claim that Celtic have “probably” been affected more than any other Scottish club by the pandemic.
Celtic have received a barrage of criticism over their decision to press ahead with their trip to Dubai at the height of a pandemic, with the journey undertaken despite no other Scottish club flying abroad.
It was confirmed shortly after their return to Glasgow that defender Christopher Jullien had tested positive, which led to 13 players, manager Neil Lennon and assistant John Kennedy all being required to self-isolate.
In his interview on Celtic TV, Lawwell said: “This horrific pandemic has affected the whole of society. People here in Scotland, our supporters, our football and our club. Probably our club more than any.”
Rangers legend McCoist, however, believes the likes of Partick Thistle have had considerably worse experiences .
Thistle were relegated from the Championship to League One after the 2019/20 season was called early, but the Jags were just two points behind Queen of the South and had a game in hand on the 11th-placed Doonhamers.
Speaking on BT Sport’s Scottish Football Extra, McCoist said: “He (Lawwell) did say a couple of strange things I’ve got to say, that Celtic might be the team in the country that’s most affected by Covid.
“An interesting thing to say when he’s running a team that were awarded the title through Covid.
“I thought that was a strange thing to say.
“Jim Goodwin probably agreed as well. I know Jim didn’t want to get involved and he came out and stated a case about his own St Mirren team having one or two problems through Covid.
“And while I’m on about it I might as well mention Partick Thistle, a team that were completely wrongly relegated through Covid, with a game in hand against a team they had already beaten twice, and the reason they had the game in hand was because the other team had a cup tie, through no fault of Partick’s own.
“And to make matters worse, the full-time team that is Partick Thistle got relegated and received only £150,000, while part-time teams get £500,000. Where’s the fair deal there?
“So sorry, I maybe disagree a little bit on that. I’ve got Partick Thistle top of my list, not to mention Hearts and Falkirk and teams like that, and St Mirren.
“I’ve got Partick top of my list of harshly-treated teams, and there’s an understatement.
“Why don’t we just try and finish the season. That would be a good idea I think.”
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