The Mark Viduka story is one that has intrigued Celtic supporters for years. And here, former manager John Barnes and ex-Hoops striker Ian Wright open up on that sorry episode.
Viduka has been vocal about his time at Celtic in the past and admitted he felt left out during his time in Glasgow.
Despite that, Viduka has never hidden his love for Celtic even after the controversial circumstances he left the club in over 25 years ago.
Mark Viduka’s time at Celtic was…
You can use just one word to sum up his time at Celtic.
But now, it’s former Celtic manager John Barnes who reveals what happened on that fateful night at Celtic Park when, at half time, Viduka refused to appear for the second half in the 3-1 defeat to Inverness Caley Thistle.
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John Barnes reveals how Celtic CEO dealt with Viduka incident
Barnes’ time at Celtic will forever be remembered for being knocked out of the Scottish Cup by Inverness Caley Thistle.
And here, he shares the events in the Celtic dressing room with Viduka that led to his sacking.
Barnes told Stick to Football, “I’ve now come, and Kenny came, and we started off OK. We were three points behind them up until Christmas.
“But then when Larsson broke his leg and Lambert broke his jaw, what you need is the harmony. So Viduka then, wanted to go, and Craig Burley wanted to go, they weren’t happy.
Wright: “Remember in the dressing room when he started taking off his kit, against Caley?”
Barnes: “Well, he never played. So Inverness Caley Thistle, you remember, right? He never came on because he just goes, and this is where…
Neville: “Who’s this?”
Barnes: “Viduka. Eric Black, the coach, said to him, he goes, ‘Oh, you’re cheating’. He goes, ‘What?’
“He goes, ‘You’re cheating’ because he wasn’t running around, because he wanted to go to Leeds, because Leeds tapped him up and he was going to go to Leeds.
“He said, ‘I’m not playing’. I said, ‘You’re refusing to go on?’, he goes, ‘Yeah.’ and he took his kit off and got in the bath.
“So, the Sunday, I said to the CEO, ‘What are we going to say about Mark Viduka refusing to play?’ He said, ‘No, no, no, don’t say that. It’s a limited company. All the news has to be good news.’
“So he goes, ‘Oh, don’t say anything about that. We’re riding the storm, we’re going to win next week.’, and then they sack me on the Monday.”
Ian Wright ‘never seen anything like’ Mark Viduka’s Celtic behaviour
Ian Wright enjoyed a brief spell at Celtic and was Viduka’s teammate during that time. And here he shares his feelings on that incredible dressing room spat.
Wright: “You know what, as well, it was really weird because remember the fans, they gave him a cheer like he was the Pope when he came out.
“And he just came in and just took his gear off. I’ve never seen anything like it. And refused to play. Never seen anything like it.”
It’s an amazing story that will always be remembered by generations of Celtic supporters.
But for Barnes, the stigma of that Celtic defeat will never leave the Liverpool legend.
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