Celtic have received confirmation that they are exempt from the mass isolation ordered by the Scottish Government for passengers returning from Dubai after a spike in cases in the UAE forced a decision to close the air bridge.
There were fears that the club would be caught up with The Scottish Government’s demand that those travelling back to Scotland from Dubai would have to isolate for ten days had they arrived back in the country after January 3.
Sky Sports News’ Anthony Joseph confirmed that the club were in talks with The Scottish Government and were considering the next steps emanating from the positive test result from a member of the playing staff.
Joseph updated fans to say that Scottish Ministers would decide whether the trip qualified as elite sport. Surely the people that Ok’d the trip would be able to stick to their guns. So it appears that a lot is up in the air relating the issue.
However, there is a concern that there may be isolation orders issued against close contacts to the player in question – who is yet to be named. Looking back to two issues from the International Break earlier in the season, Ryan Christie was identified as a close contact by Stuart Armstrong along with Kieran Tierney. Celtic may fear that the authorities may list more Celtic players as close contacts to the player in question.
Celtic face Hibernian tomorrow night at Celtic Park and it will be interesting to see who is in and around the first team. There has been speculation about who the stricken player might be but until there is official confirmation, it is not fair to speculate.
Hopefully the player recovers quickly and without any adverse affects to their health.