Report outlines why Celtic were punished so harshly by the Scottish Government

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A late-night report from the Daily Record has explained why Celtic were punished so severely by the Scottish Government.

Neil Lennon was absolutely fuming with the harshness of the close-contact decision from government officials on Monday. Last week, Celtic were told that 16 players and coaching staff members needed to self-isolate. This came after Chris Jullien tested positive after going to Dubai.

It was an eye-watering number, and Celtic would go on to draw games against Hibernian and Livingston respectively. Lennon stated the punishment was “absolutely preposterous” during his media duties on Monday (Daily Record).

However, the Record has given some insight into why this happened. They state that an investigation into six different journeys on the first-team coach showed that Jullien didn’t sit on the same seat. Given this was the case, he was exposed to more and more players.

Combining this number with the two-seat rule on planes, it quickly adds up. The Record reports that the club’s own manifests showed that the Frenchman didn’t stick to the same seat.

Report clears up Celtic punishment; Scottish Government decision must be accepted

This makes total sense. If Jullien was on several of these bus journeys and was near other players then we have to accept it. There’s no point in being angry about it now.

Again, you have to actually wonder why Jullien was even on the first-team bus. Was he making the journeys from the team hotel to the training facility? If so, why given that he’s out for several months?

There’s no logical reason for Jullien to be making a host of bus journeys. If it was to do with treatment, surely there was work Jullien could’ve done in the hotel instead?

You can’t however blame Celtic for not having players on the same seat. No club will be thinking of this when they go onto their buses, even if it’s a good idea to start thinking about it now.

So, in that instance alone, I don’t think Celtic have anything to apologise for. However, there are still big question marks over why Jullien was taken to the UAE in the first place.

The club know they’ve done wrong. It’s just a shame they can hardly bring themselves to admit to it.

In other news, this particular Celtic saga is just getting sad now after Hartson responded to Lennon.