Celtic guilty of 'minor slip-ups' of Covid protocols in Dubai - John Kennedy
- Published
Celtic guilty of 'minor slip-ups' in Dubai - Kennedy
Celtic were guilty of "minor slip-ups" in Covid-19 protocols during their training trip in Dubai, admits assistant manager John Kennedy.
Photos emerged of members of the Celtic party not distancing or wearing face coverings, and Kennedy says they give a "bleak" but "false" impression.
Kennedy says the club have been told they have no case to answer, despite first minister Nicola Sturgeon questioning if rules had been breached.
"We stayed in our bubble," he said.
"You guys back here got a snapshot of one or two pictures from locals or people on holiday and it probably paints a false picture.
"There's been slip-ups with minor things which, if you get a snapshot of something, you can criticise and jump on it.
"We speak to the players as much as we can about the protocols. If there's any error we try to eradicate that or fix it, and that's what we did. The photo maybe paints a bleak picture, but we have to move on.
"The government and SFA have said there's not really a case to answer. We've submitted what we've done every day, and the protocols we put in place to minimise any risk, and they seem quite content."
Celtic have drawn criticism for going ahead with the trip amid Covid-19 restrictions in Scotland.
But Kennedy maintains it was "made to look worse" by their arrival on Monday coinciding with Scotland being put into a nationwide lockdown.
"It's a difficult one, because there was so much work put it and I do understand the situation outwith our club," he added.
"But the latest lockdown did come when we were in Dubai, so we had travelled out there thinking everything was OK. We went over on our own flight, we didn't mingle with anyone.
"In terms of the protocols in Dubai, the hotel gave us our own areas. We had our own eating places, our own meeting areas, our own entrance and exits. We were kept aside."
The Celtic squad and staff were tested upon their arrival back in Glasgow on Friday and the results are expected by Saturday evening, according to Kennedy.
Celtic - whose midfielder David Turnbull has been named Scottish Premiership player of the month for December - return to league action on Monday against Hibernian.
Last week's Old Firm defeat leaves Neil Lennon's side 19 points adrift of Rangers with three games in hand and Kennedy says there's "nothing else for it" but to go unbeaten for the rest of the campaign to revive their hopes of a 10th consecutive title.
He confirmed Leicester City's Filip Benkovic - who spent the 2018-19 season on loan at Celtic - is on a shortlist of centre-back signing targets, with Christopher Jullien injured for up to four moths.
'They had to follow the rules in Dubai'
National clinical director Professor Jason Leitch on Off The Ball
There's the rules and there's the spirit of the rules. Professional sport people can go on winter training camps - that is allowed. They're not allowed to just go on a holiday, like the rest of us aren't. That exemption if they stay within their bubble means they don't have to quarantine when they come back.
The United Arab Emirates on Friday had 5,055 new cases - nearly double the Scottish numbers of cases. There is a lot of Covid in Dubai.
The club, when they're in Dubai, have to follow the rules. They have to distance. They are allowed to be there, to be clear.