Yesterday, Nicola Sturgeon called on the SFA to look into Celtic going to Dubai for a mid-season training camp. Celtic responded by explaining that the Scottish Government had sanctioned the trip on 12 November 2020. Many were left scratching their heads at to how Nicola Sturgeon didn’t know this. Now, she’s changed the goalposts.
In the last hour, the BBC have broke the news that Nicola Sturgeon wants pictures from the trip to be looked into, as much like her misdemeanor in a bar prior to Christmas, she feels some players haven’t adhered to all the covid guidelines. Furthermore, the First Minister had tiptoed around the issue of Government sanctioning for the trip, by saying that things have changed since November and it’s not the responsibility of the Government to give the go ahead for training camps, they simply set the rules (one of which is that elite sports people can go abroad for a training camp).
Anyone else confused?
Sturgeon told BBC Radio Scotland: “Possible breaches of social distancing rules while in the Middle East should be looked into.”
Celtic insist the training camp was approved by the Scottish Government, while the Scottish FA have no plans to investigate the trip.
Nevertheless, Sturgeon continued: “For me, the question for Celtic is what is the purpose of them being there. I’ve seen comments from the club that it’s more for R&R than training. I’ve also seen photographs that would raise questions in my mind about whether everything that elite players in a bubble must comply with are being complied with.”
👊 Hard work continues 👊
⁰#CelticFC 🍀🇦🇪 pic.twitter.com/y2Jn4vtcRQ— Celtic Football Club (@CelticFC) January 5, 2021
There was certainly an element of rest and relaxation, going by the pictures at poolside on the evening that Celtic arrived. However, since then we’ve seen plenty of images like the above which look somewhat like a training camp in the eyes of most reasonable people.
Pictures have emerged of members of the Celtic party in the UAE not wearing face masks and potentially breaching the social distancing rules that those in Scottish football must adhere to. Celtic did state that travellers returning from the UAE are exempt from self-isolation protocols in Scotland, with elite athletes in Scotland permitted to travel abroad. Thus, it remains unclear as to whether the Scottish FA will investigate that matter.
Sturgeon said: “I saw their (Celtic’s) statement and have not spent a lot of time looking into it, but as I understand it the Government gave advice to the Scottish FA about the rules around training camps in November. The world has changed quite a bit since then but it’s not our role to sign off what a club does around these training camps. The rules may have to change, but they were that elite sportspeople and teams can go overseas if it is important in the context of training and competitions.”
It sounds as if Sturgeon disagrees with the trip, despite her Government sanctioning it. She also feels that Celtic have done wrong, yet points out that the rules haven’t been broken. Instead, as she quite rightly says, the rules may have to be changed. No prizes for guessing who can make that decision!
Deputy First Minister John Swinney has accused Celtic of not setting “a particularly great example”.
“I don’t think it’s a good idea,” he told BBC Radio Scotland on Monday.
“When we are asking members of the public to take on very, very significant restrictions on the way in which they live their lives, I think we have all got to demonstrate leadership on this particular question.”
When approached for comment on Monday, a Celtic spokesman told BBC Scotland: “The training camp was arranged a number of months ago and approved by all relevant footballing authorities and the Scottish government through the Joint Response Group on 12 November.
“The team travelled prior to any new lockdown being in place, to a location exempt from travel restrictions. The camp, the same one as we have undertaken for a number of years, has been fully risk assessed. “If the club had not received Scottish government approval, then we would not have travelled.”
In November, Celtic requested their fixture with Hibernian, originally scheduled for this weekend, be moved to Monday, 11 January to accommodate the trip.
The SPFL granted the change, despite objections from the Easter Road side.
