Celtic manager Neil Lennon has stated that the club’s investigation into defender Boli Bolingoli looks like coming to an end.
The Hoops launched an internal probe into the Belgian’s actions after he jetted off to Spain and failed to quarantine upon his return. The incident forced the Hoops into suspended animation as two of the club’s league matches were postponed.
Lennon was livid with the incident as he called out the player, stating that it would be very difficult for him to come back into the Celtic squad (Glasgow Times). Now, it appears as though the club’s findings are about to be finalised.
Speaking at his pre-match press conference ahead of tonight’s clash against Ferencvaros via Celtic TV, the manager was blunt and to the point regarding Boli.
“He’s not back in training. He’s still under investigation but we’re hoping that will be resolved in the next day or two.
“I think his quarantine time is up. He hasn’t apologised yet.”
Will clear heads change anyone’s perspective?
Boli has been battered from all angles since his secret jaunt to Spain and rightly so. The player effectively betrayed his manager and his team-mates, and has also put the club under needless pressure.
Whenever Celtic go out for league matches now, they sit at least six points behind their rivals due to them having played two matches more. That adds a layer of pressure and is unforgivable when you look at it from that perspective.
In addition to that, the player has thrown Scottish football under the government’s spotlight. All eyes will now be on who makes the next fatal error in this global health pandemic. First Minister Nicola Sturgeon won’t hesitate to shut the game down up here if there are continuous breaches of protocol.
So even with cooler heads, Boli’s crimes are still intolerable. You just can’t forgive the situation he put his club and manager in.
It will be interesting to know whether the club’s internal investigation leads to anything we didn’t already know here. What more could the player possibly have hidden, for example?
There’s also no guarantee the findings will be relayed to the press or made public. Celtic may want to keep this entire matter in-house, and could very well simply let their resulting actions do the talking (e.g do they get rid of Boli? Rip up his contract? Etc).
Regardless, a conclusion to this whole scandal would appear imminent.
In other news, a senior journalist has claimed that a long-term Celtic-linked defender has made his decision on where to go this summer.
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