Neil Lennon has firmly drawn a line under Mohamed Elyounoussi’s now infamous phone-gate nonsense against Sparta Prague on Thursday.
Elyounoussi was forced to come out and explain his actions on Friday when BT Sport cameras picked up the winger looking at his phone when in the stands during the club’s 4-1 mauling at the hands of Prague.
The Norwegian explained that he was only checking the score between AC Milan and Lille in the other match that was taking place in Celtic’s Europa League group (The Herald).
And Lennon is happy to take his player’s word for it as he looked to put an end to the controversy ahead of today’s game against Motherwell at Fir Park.
As quoted by the Daily Record, Lennon said: “There’s no issue with Moi. He’s already come out and said he was just checking results.
“I will take his word for that. He’s a very conscientious player, a great lad. So there’s no fall-out from that. There will be no punishment – absolutely not.”
An absolutely nonsensical saga
For me personally, this has been one of the most ridiculous talking points I think I can remember coming out of a Celtic game – it’s all been blown totally out of proportion.
Yes, there’s an etiquette to be had on the bench or in the stands when you’ve been subbed off. You’re expected to remain invested in the game and encourage your team-mates on. But there’s nothing to suggest that Moi was doing anything more than check the Milan-Lille score – another crucial contest that affected Celtic’s chances of qualification.
It’s also worth noting that, when he was picked up by the BT cameras, Elyounoussi was placing his phone back into his pocket. It’s not as if he was sitting scrolling and looking as though he was flicking through his apps. That would’ve been a lot more unforgivable.
We’re talking about a grown man who’s just played the majority of a football game and has come off to sit out of the closing stages. Oh, and in a game we were getting hammered in by the way. He can be forgiven for checking whether our qualification hopes were given any boost by the other result.
This just wouldn’t even be a talking point if Celtic had swept Prague aside. That we didn’t has led to ridiculous talking points like these that really have been blown up just to create more drama out of nothing.
Elyounoussi did nothing wrong, and the manager is right to look to close the door on the matter. Hopefully, he bounces back today against Motherwell in Lanarkshire.
In other news, 67HH writer John Reid believes the return of a particular Celtic duo can end a long-term problem at the club.
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