The never ending Dubai saga takes a new twist as SFA chief Ian Maxwell has confirmed that the compliance officer is launching an investigation into pictures from Celtic’s Dubai training camp.
The SFA had previously refused to investigate Celtic going abroad because the Joint Response Group, on which the Government have a place, gave permission for the Bhoys to travel. However, the rules may not have been observed whilst in the middle east and therefore the SFA have sprung into action.
Images emerged of Neil Lennon and Scott Brown drinking pints on sunbeds, which caused a furore among fans and prompted Nicola Sturgeon to question the trip.
After the club announced a positive test yesterday, Ian Maxwell confirmed that the SFA compliance officer would be investigating the pictures.
According to the Glasgow Times, Maxwell said: “There are two sides to that. There’s the fact they went and was it right to go? Then was it the right decision to follow that through?
“From a permission perspective, they said in November through our competitions department, who are in touch with the Scottish government, that they wanted to go to Dubai.
“We all know football. If clubs have done something that’s successful then they want to continue to do that. So I can understand why, from a preparation perspective, that Celtic wanted to go.
“There’s then the perception issue of, ‘Is it right at this point of time that they followed through on that’? There’s been a huge amount of commentary on it. Everyone has an opinion on the trip, and I’m sure that’s something Celtic are reconsidering in light of the events that happened.
“In terms of any alleged breaches that happened during their trip, you guys will be aware of the disciplinary process that we have which is well used. We have a compliance officer who looks at all sorts of alleged breaches from all sorts of clubs, over all sorts of alleged incidents.
“Everything we’re made aware of goes through that process, and it would be foolish to say that we have not been made aware of issues potentially with Celtic being abroad. That will go through the process, and it’s not appropriate to comment on an ongoing issue. We’ll see what happens from there.”
