Celtic manager Neil Lennon has called out the Scottish Government for differential treatment between the club and Rangers in the way both clubs have been treated after players broke Covid regulations.
As reported by the Glasgow Times, Lennon felt the inconsistencies were ‘Hypocritical’ when it came to the treatment of both clubs by the Scottish Government, claiming that Celtic as a club is being dealt with in possibly a different manner to others.
When asked if he felt the Scottish Government’s approach to dealing with both clubs was odd, he said:
“Odd? Hypocritical. I could use a lot of words. But I’m not going to because I don’t want the story to be about me.
“I have come out and called it as I saw it. And people have thrown all sorts back at me. But my conscience was clear at the time [of the post-Dubai press conference] and still is.
“And I don’t want to take the government on again but you can tell there is a bit of discontent there.
“There just seemed to be a different tack to when [First Minister Nicola Sturgeon] was speaking about us. The fact she brought us into the answer [when asked about the Rangers players] sort of baffled me as well.
“I think we as a club have been treated differently from other clubs, and other parts of society as well.
“I said all I needed to say after Dubai. I said it smacked of hypocrisy and I am not changing from that.
“That is all I am going to say about it.”
Both clubs have now had a few incidents to deal with when it comes to Covid regulations this season.
The first of which comes all the way back in August when Boli Bolingoli took a flight to Spain and returned without self-isolating before featuring in a fixture between the Hoops in Kilmarnock. This of course resulted in two of the club’s games being postponed due to those actions.
There was also the Dubai incident which has already been talked about and will likely continue to be for years to come.
Rangers themselves have also had a number of incidents that saw several of their players attending house parties and breaking protocol set by the government and the clubs with the latest incident coming last weekend.
So far the Scottish Government haven’t intervened in the incident and it doesn’t look like they will be to Lennon and no doubt the club’s frustration.
This is not the first time Lennon has taken the Government to task this season and his comments may be something that first minister Nicola Sturgeon is forced to comment on in the coming days.
Which side is she on? We will soon find out.