Celtic and the Scottish Government have been trading public blows this evening as the furore surrounding the club’s trip to Dubai continues.
Scot Gov released a statement earlier today suggesting they wanted the Scottish FA to investigate the trip abroad.
A spokesperson said [Daily Record]: “Following the First Minister’s latest update to parliament, we would ask people not to travel internationally, across the UK or beyond their local authority unless absolutely essential.
“We would expect the SFA to look into Celtic’s trip further. While there are travel exemptions in place for elite sports which are designed to facilitate international and European competition, if we feel they are being abused, we won’t hesitate to remove this privilege.”
However, Celtic have hit back this evening, assuring supporters that the trip was in fact signed off by the Scottish FA, SPFL and the Scottish Government via the Joint Response Group.
The club said [Twitter]: “The training camp was arranged a number of months ago and approved by all relevant footballing authorities and Scottish Government through the Joint Response Group on 12th November 2020.
“The team travelled prior to any new lockdown being in place, to a location exempt from travel restrictions. The camp, the same one as we have undertaken for a number of years has been fully risk assessed.
“If the club had not received Scottish Government approval then we would not have travelled.”
Celtic and Scottish Government both culpable
As we’ve discussed on the site already today, it’s unlikely that Celtic have fallen foul of any regulations or guidance.
They’ve been buttoned up on that matter for most of the season, Boli Bolingoli incident aside.
However, it’s clear that cases have been rising in the country for the past two weeks. It culminated in a stricter tier setting on Boxing Day and further restrictions announced by First Minister Nicola Sturgeon today.
Could Celtic have not clarified with the government they shouldn’t be heading abroad?
Likewise, if the Government had grown uneasy with the trip, they should have communicated with Celtic before their departure.
Regardless of the rulebook rights or wrong, it’s simply not a good look for the club to be travelling around the world right now.
With the pandemic flaring again, the team 19 points behind, out of Europe and having suffered another defeat to Rangers, someone really should have recognised the looming PR disaster.
In other news, Celtic fans weren’t happy with training pics from Dubai.
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