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https://www.twitlonger.com/show/n_1sri0hv Jas Boyd · @Jas72Boyd While not strictly about Rangers, I thought it worthwhile to post it in the main forum because of the importance of the issue and to give it maximum publicity and it raises questions as to why Duffy was treated differently from Zungu, for example. Celtic Dubai trip – A timeline and where are you SPFL ? November 2020 – Celtic approach the SFA to seek approval to travel to "somewhere" and the SFA subsequently ask the Scottish Government. The JRG rules are very clear that the only way this trip would be allowed if it was to fulfil a winter training camp. 19 December 20 – Nicola Sturgeon announces a nationwide lockdown and return to Tier 4 from Boxing Day. No-one is to leave the country unless “absolutely essential” and unavoidable. 2nd January 21 – Rangers beat Celtic again. A few moments later – Neil Lennon announces live on Sky that Celtic are flying out to Dubai for a bit of “R and R”. This is NOT allowed under the JRG rules as R and R is not a "Training Camp" 3rd January 21 Photo 1 – Neil Lennon, Scott Brown, SHANE DUFFY and various other Celtic players and staff are pictured around the pool with the first 2 having a drink. Crucially, it appears none of them have face masks on. This breached JRG Rule 1. (see end) http://img4.imagetitan.com/img.php?image=23_celticdubai2-copy.jpg Photo 2 – SHANE DUFFY and Scott Brown at the Jacuzzi Bar again with no masks on. Breach of Rule 1 – There are some doubts if this picture is a photoshop or not however if you look at the Bar in front of the players, the reflections match perfectly their body positions. http://img4.imagetitan.com/img.php?image=23_hottub-copy.jpg Photo 3 – 9 Celtic players including SHANE DUFFY are pictured drinking in Shades bar watching the Chelsea v Man City game. Shades Bar is a sports bar situated in Le Royal Meridien and is open to the public. This breached JRG Rule 1 and JRG Rule 2. http://img4.imagetitan.com/img.php?image=23_celticdubai3-copy975.jpg Its important to note at this point that even if Celtic had exclusive use of the hotel, which they did not, then according to JRG Rule 2, in that scenario, the bar should be CLOSED completely so any notion it was private does NOT negate the rules. Photo 4 – SHANE DUFFY is pictured getting a selfie with a fan. To be fair, there is a bit of distance between them however again, he is doing so without his mask on which breaches JRG Rule 1 http://img4.imagetitan.com/img.php?image=23_duffydubai-copy.jpg 4th January 21 – The Celtic PR job attempts to change the narrative from this being a “trip for some R and R” which is a direct quote from the manager to it being a difficult and full training trip. Celtic claim “The training camp was arranged a number of months ago & approved by all relevant footballing authorities & @scotgov through the Joint Response Group on 12th November 2020” 4th January 21 – Photo 5 - SHANE DUFFY flies home from trip. He is pictured in Dubai airport, outwith the football bubble flying home in a commercial, non chartered airline, and not wearing his mask correctly. http://img4.imagetitan.com/img.php?image=23_duffyairport-copy.jpg 8th January 21 – Photo 6 – Picture of Christopher Jullien leaving the plane and airport emerge with his crutches. Jullien had injured himself a week before the trip and is out of action for up to 4 months. His inclusion on the trip cannot in anyway meet the standard of being “absolutely essential” and therefore he broke the Government rule, in fact law, by travelling out of the country. This backs up Neil Lennons view it was R and R. http://img4.imagetitan.com/img.php?image=23_jullien-copy.jpg All 49 staff who travelled at a total cost of over £250,000 are tested for Covid upon arrival back home. 10th January 21 – News breaks that Christopher Jullien, who travelled, in my opinion illegally, to Dubai, has tested positive for Covid. First and foremost, I wish him and anyone around him affected a speedy and full recovery. Jullien has been around players at the hotel, on a tin can in the air for 7 hours and on the bus journey back to Celtic Park completely unaware he is now carrying the disease. He had to have caught it somewhere. Was it in the bar watching the footy ? Or in the busy Dubai Airport where Celtic did NOT have the luxury of being separated whilst transiting to their charter flight or even on the plane home from one of the stewards or stewardesses ? The irony it was a player who shouldn’t have been anywhere near the trip Is not lost here. Also that day – John Kennedy is interviewed and amongst other things revealed that: a) SHANE DUFFY would miss the Hibs game as he left the bubble and requires a different round of testing. https://www.glasgowtimes.co.uk/sport/19000167.shane-duffy-remains-celtics-plans-according-john-kennedy/ b) Celtic players had made “slip ups and minor things” on their training camp in Dubai, a quite astonishing admission. https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/55603267 11th January 21 – News breaks a further 15 members of staff including players and management are now self isolating due to contact with Jullien. Nicola Sturgeon counter Celtics previous claim by confirming they did not “give approval”: “We set out the rules, it is not the role of the Scottish Government. We are not formally on the Joint Response Group. It is not our role to give approval or not give approval to what a football team is doing. As I understand it, I think at the time when that clarity of the rules was given it was another country that they were planning on going to rather than Dubai and also, that was back in November. “The world and the situation with Covid has changed quite a lot since then and the club itself described the trip to Dubai as R&R.” https://www.thescottishsun.co.uk/sport/football/6518911/sturgeon-celtic-planned-to-go-different-country-not-dubai/ The SPFL bury their heads in the sand and refuse to comment all day. They remain silent. Silent that is until Hibs threaten not to play the game only to be told they MUST play the game or they will forfeit the points. A threat if you will. But the SPFL apparently go one better. They tell Hibs that they must play the game but they shouldn’t worry about their players catching Covid because if that happens, the SPFL will postpone the League Cup Semi Final for them until everyone is ok. Astounding. https://www.edinburghnews.scotsman.com/sport/football/hibs/hibs-reveal-spfl-threat-club-issues-statement-controversial-celtic-clash-3092670 Later that evening – The team sheets come out and SHANE DUFFY is on it. This is SHANE DUFFY who breached JRG rules at the poolside, breached them at a jacuzzi bar, breached them in a sports bar, breached them getting selfies with a fan, mingled with hundreds of passengers in Dubai departures whilst not wearing mask correctly, probably did the same on the plane, according to reports, went back into a English family bubble he had not been part of due to living in Scotland then flew on another commercial plane back to Scotland to play despite the management team saying he couldnt. The Scottish government days earlier announced that all people arriving in Scotland who had flown home from Dubai on the 3rd January had to isolate. This included Shane Duffy. He was no longer protected under the Elite football status. He should be in quarantine, just as Rangers new signing in October was forced to do for 14 days when he flew on a Commercial airline to sign for Rangers. https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/bongani-zungu-quarantine-blow-revealed-22855325 This story is going to run and run but here are a list of many questions that the SPFL specifically need to answer here? 1) In the middle of a Global pandemic, who sanctioned Celtics change of fixture to a Monday night, despite Hibernians refusal, on the grounds of a R and R trip to Dubai? 2) Will the football authorities ask Celtic about the R and R statement from Neil Lennon? 3) Why was a guy out for 3 months taken on an alleged Training camp ? 4) Why did Shane Duffy travel home and which bubble did he join in England ? 5) Whats the difference between 9 players in a Dubai bar v 8 players in an Aberdeen bar ? 6) What questions have been asked of John Kennedy in relation to minor breaches he said happened in Dubai ? 7) How do these minor breaches compare to the minor breaches at Kilmarnock and St Mirren? ? What changed between Saturday (SHANE DUFFY cannot play) to Monday when he did? 9) Why did Bongani Zungu have to quarantine when Duffy did not ? 10) Why has there been ZERO public comment from any official of the SPFL ? 11) Given that Aberdeen had to cancel 2 games due to the players being in a bar, how come Celtic played last night with at least 2 players on the park who were in the Dubai Bar ? (SHANE DUFFY and Stephen Welsh) 12) Leigh Griffiths party, Bolingoli trip to Spain, Frimpong flying his American girlfriend to Scotland for her to breach quarantine, multiple breaches in Dubai, Duffy breaking government quarantine rules……is it one rule for Celtic FC and another set of rules for the rest of the population of Scotland ? RULES Its important to note at this stage, there are a number of iterations of the JRG rules but the guidance for them is that they all cross over each other and that the rules “IN SCOTLAND” take precedent over any local rules as confirmed in the PHASE 3 - RESUMPTION OF PERFORMANCE (ELITE) SPORT GUIDANCE Step 4 (return to cross border competition – no spectators) issued by Sports Scotland https://sportscotland.org.uk/media/5908/phase-3-resumption-of-performance-sport-step-4-final-draft-with-annex-a.pdf Which states: “All existing government and Public Health Scotland (PHS) guidance continues to apply and takes precedent over any other standards (specified by international Competition Organisers, International Federations or governments) unless otherwise specified” The JRG RULES on clubs staying in a hotel are very clear and see RULE 1 and RULE 2 in conjunction with the points above. RULE 1 “Face masks for players and staff to be used during the stay, outside their own room, the dining room and the team bus” RULE 2 “Ban on access for players and staff to the Wellness areas, gym and other common areas such as the bar, lounges or lobby. Alternatively, if hotel is exclusive to team, these areas should be closed” Where are you Neil Doncaster? £300k + per year and as silent as the night. A job that by his own admission is only there to carry out the wishes of his members. Your members want answers. Aberdeen want to know why its okay for 9 Celtic players to be in a bar in Dubai but not in Aberdeen. Rangers want to know why Zungu had to isolate/quarantine for 14 days despite sticking to protocols but Duffy never having breached rules time and time again. They also want to know why 2 players were given 7 match bans for breaching protocol when a whole team of players is out in Dubai breaching left right and centre. Hibs want to know why they were threatened to play last night. They also want to know why you moved to their game without their agreement to facilitate this abomination of a trip in the first place. St Mirren and Kilmarnock want to know why their admission of minor breaches meant them initially losing games 3-0 yet you are completely silent on Celtics breaches as admitted by the management team. Motherwell want to know why you gave them 6 points then deducted them, without any prior notification on the morning of Boxing Day hours before a match. Hamilton want to know the same. Partick Thistle want to know if yesterdays decision was made BECAUSE of what has happened here with Celtic going to Dubai. Get your finger out of your pie hole Neil !!

Why would we want Shane Duffy prevented from playing? We should be doing everything we can to ensure that man starts every match for Celtic. I'm in the 'stand back and let this play out without comment' camp. We're 21 points ahead, 12 if they win their matches in hand, they've lost half their players for 10 days and even the First Minister is publicly calling them liars. Their squad is weaker than at any point in the last decade and their best players want to leave. Add to that the fury consuming many of their own support and the clear lack of leadership and discipline inside their club. We will never have a better opportunity to win the league than what we have now. We're playing outstanding football, this is in our hands, we can only blow it from here. I urge everyone at Ibrox to ignore the circus across the city and focus entirely on ourselves. Just keep winning, nothing else matters.

Their arrogance has become quite ridiculous these past few years but that will make their fall even harder. Their suffering brings me nothing but joy.

Ah, BD, my rapier like wit misses the intended target once again. The internet has told me many, many times before that a witty one liner is best left to others, but still I plod on like an Irish international centre-half sent out on loan from a jobbing EFL side to a Scottish team in need of defensive fortitude. I should know better. My plea for clemency for Duffy was meant tongue in cheek, apologies.

I'm just pissed off with Celtic as their actions made me watch Sturgeon's briefing yesterday for the first time.

This is one of the biggest issues in Scottish football right now so well worth discussing given it directly affects us.

The league table really is a beautiful sight!

Naughty FF thread snatched for the local readers ... Gordon Park - This aged well!

The problem we have here is that the JRG consists of Doncaster, Petrie, Maxwell and an SFA employed doctor. I honestly laughed yesterday when all these lower league clubs were complaining about their leagues being suspended and asking various questions. They had the chance in the summer to make REAL changes to the hierarchy of Scottish football and they voted to continue with the status quo. You reap what you sow. Also, in the case of Rangers. Yes we should privately ask the questions relating to us, but we should also take a step back and watch this unfold while going about our business on the park quietly and professionally.

I would add that the way the bheasts ran out of gas in the closing minutes looked reminiscent of a team that had been away on the bevvy for a week before the game. Of course they weren’t, they were elite sporting superstars getting some vital warm weather training. Lovely.

Still waiting on Lennon being cited by the CO for his interviews regarding the referees decision to send Bitton off in the OF game. I'm not holding my breath...

@26th of foot I heard the Bhoy in Corduroy was on STV last night saying Celtic hadn’t done anything wrong and football should be stopped. Quietly terrified of 55?

I don't think Celtic should get away scot-free with a blatant disregard of the Covid bubble rules and playing a player who has been outside of their bubble. Our players got 7 games suspension. We can turn a blind eye to it and the favourable treatment of Celtic by the SFA/SPFL will continue unabated, not forgetting the health risk that Celtic created.

So utterly predictable from the likes of that mumbling buffoon. Expect more like him to start popping up on all SMSM in coming days.

If Hibs play anywhere near that level against us in a fortnight, we will have one of our easiest wins of the season ahead. They were absolutely rank rotten, but still well worth their point, in a game that would get football stopped. West Germany v Austria ‘82 anyone?

The comeback is on. We started the day 22 points ahead, we finish it only 21 points in front.

That puts Steve Bruce under massive pressure. Man Utd almost over the line and will go top, plus they have Liverpool at the weekend - if they dont lose that then they are fully in the driving seat.

Monty Python, Bill Hicks, Chris Morris and Larry David combined could not have written a better comedy than the laughter fest that is Celtic 20-21. We haven't quite reached Lawrence from Carntyne levels yet but we are getting close.

Watching the Celtic circus this season has been rather amusing...

The Guardian, now, kicks at the open door. Well, being The Guardian, it is more of a waft of the desert boot in the general direction of the portal. However, it's a start, and I do like the "plasticine empire" jibe. Celtic's plasticine empire is collapsing amid arrogance and awful decisions Ewan Murray The club should apologise for a Dubai trip that has disfigured a season already notable for toil on the pitch and mess off it Tue 12 Jan 2021 13.36 GMT https://www.theguardian.com/football/2021/jan/12/celtic-plasticine-empire-is-collapsing-amid-arrogance-and-awful-decisions-apologise-dubai Celtic: The Implosion. The imagination of a scriptwriting genius would have been necessary to piece together a chain of events which are now far enough removed from fiction as to fatally undermine what was billed as a history-making season. Grand plans relating to a 10th title in a row are long gone; instead, Celtic’s collective decision-making has reduced the club to a laughing stock. Their supporters, normally so fiercely defensive of reputation, have been united in horror at the unravelling of a setup which appeared untouchable 12 months ago. It really didn’t take much to topple this plasticine empire. There are dismal multimillion-pound transfer episodes, the case of the left-back who breached travel rules for a holiday in Spain without the club’s knowledge, rows from Nicola Sturgeon, European embarrassment at the hands of Ferencvaros and Europa League teams who rattled in 19 goals in six group matches, even before we get to rampaging supporters outside Celtic Park as domestic dominance began to disintegrate. Just when such noise had calmed to the point of acceptance – Rangers’ win in the Old Firm game of 2 January secured the title in all but name – came a trip to Dubai and fallout which renders “ill-advised” as understatement of the year. By the time Celtic took to the pitch against Hibernian on Monday night, 13 players and three coaches – including Neil Lennon, the manager - were in isolation. Celtic’s season-ticket holders, handed a streaming code for their money, watched a reserve team limp to a 1-1 draw as Lennon issued instructions to substitutes via air pods. It sums up the incredible scenario that Christopher Jullien, taken to Dubai despite a long-term injury, was the player to test positive for Covid-19 and attract the attention of track and trace teams. Were it Celtic – and not Rangers – holding a 21-point advantage then fans really wouldn’t care less about Dubai and associated drama. But here we are: Celtic are toiling on the pitch and an unholy mess off it. Rangers’ league form has been exemplary but Steven Gerrard must be laughing himself silly. Celtic’s board detest any charge of complacency. The club object to any assertion that their self-proclaimed scale is undermined by two-bit behaviour. Yet it is impossible to foresee any situation whereby Dermot Desmond, the absentee landlord, would abide by such gross mismanagement at any of his other businesses. Celtic’s Dubai shambles is indicative of dreadful decision-making and a culture of arrogance. It cannot be emphasised often enough that Celtic should be in a different competitive stratosphere to this, owing to the years of leeway afforded by Rangers’ financial implosion. Instead, punters lapped up thrashings of Hamilton Accies as directors presided over managed decline. The means by which this has all come to a head is spectacular but the signs have been there for years. Lennon was offered his job in the dressing-room showers after a cup final. The Celtic statement that confirmed the housebound status of the Dubai 16 was as extraordinary as it was audacious. Rather than offer any hint of remorse, this served as a reminder of an entitlement culture. “The reality is that a case could well have occurred had the team remained in Scotland, as other cases have done in Scottish football and across UK sport in the past week,” it read. A club founded on grounds of decency and compassion has acted with blatant disregard for a troubled, wider picture in needlessly swanning off on a charter flight to the Middle East mid-pandemic. They go to Dubai every year, so why not go again? This is the attitude of a petulant teenager, with chutzpah boosted by the scores of observers too scared to criticise such a prominent entity. John Kennedy, Celtic’s assistant manager, reported on Saturday that Shane Duffy would “miss the [Hibs] game because he’s left the bubble”. Duffy had departed Dubai early to attend to personal matters. By Monday night, the Irishman was playing at centre-back. Scottish clubs have indeed returned positive Covid cases, without the necessity for such a tally of isolations. Celtic aren’t at all used to being told they are in the wrong; and certainly not from Scottish football officialdom. Their level of power may well distort perspectives. An apology to Celtic’s supporters should have opened any bulletin. Instead? Hubris. There are two strands to the Celtic trip. On the one hand, it was chronically tone deaf against a backdrop of severe restrictions at home and on-field underperformance. On the other, it looks from this distance that it was crazily inviting coronavirus risk. Celtic don’t fly to any domestic fixture. As photos emerged of an apparently “relaxed” environment, scrutiny only intensified. “I do have doubts, based on how the club itself described it, about whether Celtic’s trip to Dubai was really essential,” said Sturgeon. “I have doubts based on some pictures I’ve seen whether adherence to bubble rules was strict enough.” Celtic didn’t break laws but they abused the spirit of them. Gavin Strachan, left in dugout charge against Hibs, doubled down on the club’s stance. He said: “There’s regret that one person has caught the virus but there’s not a regret in terms of the permission we got to go and the protocols that we followed, which we have done the whole season. It’s regrettable that we got one positive, which we could have got at any time. “It’s a trip that’s been done over the last few years and it has yielded very positive results, so the thinking behind it was to maintain that and try to galvanise and push in the second half of the season.” It may have escaped Strachan’s attention that a number of things deemed absolutely fine “over the last few years” are off the table for now. Andy Walker, a man immersed in Celtic, was wonderfully coruscating during Sky’s Monday night coverage. “What the Celtic support deserve is a bit of contrition from someone with a bit of backbone at this club,” said the former striker. “They are being short-changed and it’s completely unacceptable.” This mess leaves the Scottish Professional Football League – unimpressive enough in normal times, let alone a crisis – in something of a pickle. After St Mirren and Kilmarnock couldn’t play fixtures earlier in the season, 3-0 victories were handed to opponents. The clubs appealed. Boxing Day – months after the fixtures in question – saw a hilarious but necessary reconfiguration of the table on account of said appeals. Not only did the SPFL allow Celtic to skip over to Dubai, the league moved the Hibs match – much to the chagrin of the Edinburgh club – to facilitate it. At the point this nonsense was taking place, Celtic held two matches in hand. Neil Doncaster, the SPFL chief executive, had previously been very uptight about scheduling. Celtic were allowed to knock out midweeks while behind in fixtures on the basis of winter sun. The SPFL appears far more interested in Covid outcomes than causes, especially with regards small clubs with small squads. Celtic played Hibs, hence the integrity of the competition and image damage beyond that don’t apparently matter. Hibs asked for retesting at Celtic, a perfectly valid request even on an optics level, and were refused by their opponents and the SPFL. There is total silence from Doncaster, his chairman Murdoch MacLennan and non-executive directors implicated in yet another farce. This is, however, predictable. Dubai will for ever serve as an inauspicious reference point in this Celtic campaign of 2020-21. Even in this, such a fickle business, it will take a lot for the club’s support to turn back on-side. The sequel will only depict a happy place if Celtic admit to glaring failings.

Exactly. Wright is essentially a wide player. In our squad at the moment we’ve only got Jones & Stewart as back -up for Kent. Stewart hasn’t featured much this season & his contract is up at the end of the season. Jones Im not sure has a future at Rangers. My only concern about Wright is his injury record.

It’s pretty staggering that, even with the extent of reporting over these incidents, the SPFL refused to investigate and the SFA are only now considering it. Given the current circumstances how is their any lenience when it comes to COVID security? I’m astonished that Jones and Edmundson get 7 match bans for being at a house party but Celtic players aren’t even investigated for being in a public pub or pool. The cheek of the SFA and SPFL to not even look into this.

I don't think John was being entirely serious. The Duffy is just another apparent example of what seems like deliberate malfeasance from Celtic with regard to their recent behaviour. The SFA must act.

It might just be me but I can only see the first few columns of the results database. Looks like a spreadsheet range issue. I'd be very grateful if someone could take a look at it or let me know what I might be doing wrong. Thanks. Edit - on looking more closely, the data is all there but I have to scroll across to see it. The window is very small and only shows about half the data columns.

there’s no urgency at all. Just thought I’d mention it.

Please don't think I have said that because he plays in Scotland, that isn't the case. I actually thought Kamara looked a really tidy player when we signed him - I didn't think he would grow into the Kamara we have today right enough - I just don't see where Scott Wright would fit in our team. Will he replace Kent, Roofe or Hagi for example? I can't see it, so for that reason I would rather we gave our Academy players a shot/game time. Trust me, I would love nothing more that our team to be full of young Scottish players who go on to become the core of the National team.

All the more so because not one of us expected to be looking at anything remotely like the table we see. I look at it in that wonderful combination of surprise and delight. I always remember being at Ibrox on a sunny afternoon when we wrapped up the title against St Mirren in the 1990's and being disappointed at a distinct lack of excitement around me. I can't remember which the NIAR titles it was but familiarity with success had definitely started to have an effect. I hope we never see that again.

Not buying this 'Depleted' bullshit that PQ are spouting either, there were 9 players that played in the cup final in their team last night. Hardly depleted. All official sources within their club are still defending the Dubai trip to the death too, even though their own support thought it was a bad idea.? .

He's not like-for-like: he's actually more suited to the position he'd play for us than Jones and Barker; and, at 23, he's younger than Stewart and Jones. I agree with giving youth a chance, but you need decent squad players alongside the youngsters. Wright is a stand-out player in a 'good' Aberdeen side, whereas Kennedy is still only 18 and hasn't done much in Championship sides. To bring in Wright on the cheap, is a no-brainer, for me.

Wright has looked decent any time I have saw him. My issue is are we just replacing like for like when you see the level of a Stewart, Barker or Jones? I know we need a squad but I would much rather Kai Kennedy, for example, was given an opportunity from next season similar to Patterson this year.

We are in a grand position let's just keep it that way and number 55 can be achieved

Plane manifest apparently

Wall to wall sob stories until we win the league. After that a lifetime of excuses.

Martindale is also a Rangers fan so he will have them fired up for both matches.

Martindale has worked wonders there. An incredible run of form, we haven’t seen similar from that level of team in a very long time. 8 wins in a row (7 in league).

Can see more points dropped

Celtic play Livi twice in the next few days. On this showing Celtic will be very lucky to pick up six points.

Apparently it was wee Lenny giving him instructions. He’d have been better muting them and listening to his pitch side coach.

Despite all the hullabaloo surrounding this game, I still expect them to beat Hibs. Boyle is out for Hibs after a knock in training and their starting XI still has enough regular starters.