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Celtic's controversial trip to Dubai was "clearly... a mistake" and one for which they "profoundly apologise", says chief executive Peter Lawwell.

Neil Lennon and his squad returned from training in the Middle East on Friday, with Christopher Jullien subsequently testing positive for Covid-19.

As a result, Lennon, assistant John Kennedy, and 13 players had to isolate and missed the draw with Hibernian.

"The outcome was clearly very regrettable," Lawwell told CelticTV.

"On refection, looking back and looking with hindsight and looking at the outcome of the trip, clearly it was a mistake and for that I profoundly apologise to our supporters.

"This horrific pandemic has affected the whole of society. It's affected people here in Scotland, it's affected our supporters, it's affected our football and it's affected our club - probably our club more than any."

Positive test is Celtic's 'only regret'

How Celtic's Dubai trip unravelled

Jullien is the fifth Celtic player to test positive for Covid-19, with David Turnbull, Odsonne Edouard, Nir Bitton and Hatem Abd Elhamed previously contracting the virus while on international duty.

On Saturday, Celtic assistant manager John Kennedy admitted the club had been guilty of "minor slip-ups" in Covid-19 protocols during their six days in Dubai.

Photos emerged of members of the Celtic party not distancing or wearing face coverings, and Kennedy said they give a "bleak" but "false" impression.

Speaking on Monday, Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon urged Celtic to "reflect seriously" on events that have led to the recent outbreak.

But Lawwell said the decision to go Dubai, where Celtic have trained during the winter over the past four years, was made with "the best intentions".

And he cited Celtic's earlier international trips this season, after which there had been no positive tests.

"Clearly the landscape has changed significantly - particularly in the run-up to us going to Dubai - in terms of the infection rate," he said.

"The protocols were robust, they're proven, and that's what we put in place for the Dubai trip. 

"Overall, the decision to go was for the right reasons - it was performance - and of course the outcome of that has been really disappointing."

Celtic are now 21 points behind Scottish Premiership leaders Rangers but with three games in hand and the chief executive described some of the criticism of the club as "unfair".

"I do understand how people are questioning the decision to go," he added.

"We've got to keep fighting over the coming months and put the club in a position that we can maximise the potential and take this magnificent football club as far as we possibly can."

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56 minutes ago, ger4life_1872 said:

With hindsight ffs it was obvious it would be  a terrible decision if they actually went for weeks 

‘In reflection, looking back AND looking with hindsight’ even....😂

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55 minutes ago, Negri's lovechild said:

Everything they do at the moment drops with arrogance and entitlement.

  • Apologies to their own fans rather than Scottish football, Government and all supporters.
  • Having the audacity to say they have been the club to have suffered most through the pandemic, the victim card out for all to see.
  • The reinforcement that the jolly to Dubai was for training purposes only.
  • Excuses about the timeline of when it was booked. Never heard of a cancellation Pete?
  • A pre prepared and controlled interview rather than a press conference.

The sheer arrogance of them trying to justify the whole mess and play the victim card at the same time is astonishing. Really takes them to a whole new level. 

They aren't working their way out of this one by the looks of it. Surprised he never signed off with a hail hail. 

his interview was a embarrassment  as the celtic fans said in these tweets pre prepared questions  how can any right minded person say thay have been hit worse than any other club  try telling that to hearts falkirk partick thistle cove rangers kelty hearts etc  i just hope all the other clubs in scotland wake up and see them for what they are  charlatans

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The only thing I believe from the video is that he is didn't want to do this 'interview', and likely feels there was no need to, probably forced as a result of their share price dropping again rather than fan or media pressure. He had as much remorse shown there as I believe he has for any of the kids who had abhorrent things done to them by his club.

Trying to play the victim card as usual by stating that Covid's impacted them more than anyone else was simply astounding, even by their cretinous standards.

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1 hour ago, Sweetheart said:

Press should ask him why he feels the FM, the general public and the Scottish footballing community don't get a mention in his apology. 

 

Humility, integrity, respect.  If you asked any football fan what club believes they display these traits, that showed of white would be throats one you would mention.

What a deluded count he is.

 

 

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