Neil Lennon accused the Scottish government of “double-standards” “confusion” over Covid-19 violations from Scottish footballers – the Celtic manager citing mixed reactions to the presence of Rangers players Jordan Jones, George Edmundson and Celtic Bolley defender. Unauthorized Paulingoli trip to Spain in August.
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The Ibrox Club duo was suspended for two weeks after they were fined by police and told to self-isolate for 14 days when a gathering in an apartment on the west end of Glasgow was dispersed in the early hours of Monday morning. Following these measures, a Scottish government spokesperson said in a statement: “Players maintain the sports bubble by not compromising any of these things when they are away from a training environment or organized matches, and we expect clubs, their staff and players to achieve their goals. Responsibilities and application of all these measures. We commend the Rangers for taking such swift and decisive action in this case, to protect the rest of their team and the wider public. “
The measured tones of the statement were very different from Prime Minister Nicola Sturgeon’s comments after a full night of Bolingoli in Spain – which came against a backdrop of eight Aberdeen players failing to follow the rules regarding social distancing and home mixing on a visit to a downtown bar. – Three months ago. Then footballers were reprimanded – though Celtic Paulingoli kicked out of the club, Before he was later sent on loan to Turkish club Istanbul Basaksehir.
Then the sturgeon said: “This is not acceptable.” “I stand here every day and ask the fans to make huge sacrifices about the way they live their lives. The vast majority are doing it and it’s not easy. We couldn’t have outstanding footballers who just decided they wouldn’t go bother. It just can’t go on. Consider it.” Today the yellow card [for football]. Next time it will be a red card because you will not leave us with any choice whatsoever. “
Lennon said the difference in the Scottish government’s rhetoric in both cases was “unacceptable”. “I can’t comment on what the Rangers Boys have done,” said the manager of Celtic. What I can comment on is the government’s response, which I find baffling. Looking at the way they treated us after the Bolingoli accident. There appears to be double standards at the moment, as far as we’re concerned.
“You have to ask the government [if they were making amends for being so hard on Scottish football in August]. For the spokesperson [to say what they did] … I found it strange to say the least. We did it as a team, and I’m sure our fans did, too. I am not happy with that. We were thrown under the bus. We were exposed to “outstanding footballers” and “yellow card” and such-and-such. We were treated in a way and the other clubs were treated by the government, which is unacceptable from our point of view. “
