The Scottish Premiership is going through a tremendously complicated situation due to a meeting in a bar and a mini-vacation in Malaga of several of its players who have already forced the suspension of four games for Celtic and Aberdeen: the one that faced the Hoops against St.Mirren, that of the Dons against Hamilton and St. Johnstone and the one who had to play Between both.
The one that was planted in Spain was Boli Bolingoli. The left-back has been the one who has unleashed all the trouble for a 24-hour getaway to Malaga on August 3. Bolingoli did not inform Celtic of this trip and, of course, skipped the mandatory quarantine required upon return to Scotland, even being lined up during the last league game against Kilmanrock. The club condemned his behavior as publicly “stupid”. “It is difficult to imagine a more irresponsible action in the current circumstances” added the club announcing the opening of a disciplinary part. That Bolingoli, already considered before this among the expendable, to wear the Celtic shirt again seems mission impossible.
The controversy, far from stopping there, is on the way to increase as the press today publishes photos on the plane taken by a Celtic fan who recognized him on the plane, focusing on the price of his clothes and luggage (2000 pounds only the suitcase, they point out) in addition to his bad behavior.
The Celtic is not the only one who has skipped this protocol to prevent infections between players. Last week it was eight Aberdeen players who, after losing 1-0 at home to Rangers, decided to drown their penalties together in a “crowded city center bar” according to local press. Of these eight, two have tested positive for coronavirus and the other six are isolated as a precaution.
The behavior of the players of the red team added to that of the Celtic side has forced the Scottish Prime Minister, Nicola Sturgeon, to intervene directly, who issued a strong warning: if something similar happens again, the League will be suspended. “Some players seem unable to live up to what is being asked of them. I regret it. It is not something that can be accepted. Every day I go out here to ask citizens to make great sacrifices when changing their daily lives and the vast majority do it without being easy at all. We cannot allow privileged soccer players to simply decide that they will not bother to comply with the rules.. This cannot go on like this. ”The prime minister was clear and even pulled on football slang to explain that if it continues like this, the most immediate future of the Scottish Premiership is at risk. “Let me express myself as clearly as possible in a language that the world of football will understand well: today they have seen a yellow card. The next one, it's going to be red, they don't leave us a choice. I don't want the season to be at risk. I do not want someone who is not responsible to pay but I would like to be clear: this is not acceptable, “said Sturgeon.
As indicated from Scotland, the Ministry of Sport worked hard to convince the Prime Minister of the return of the beautiful game, a decision that she now calls into question for obvious reasons. “Players must heed the Prime Minister's warning that Scottish football has seen the first yellow,” warns Rod Petrie, head of the Coronavirus Response Group created by the Scottish Federation to control the return of football from the pandemic. The league, which was considering the return of the public in a short space of time, is now at risk.
The future of many clubs and of the competition itself is at stake as a second suspension could further aggravate the crisis faced by all clubs, to a greater or lesser extent, after practically all football worldwide has stopped. For now, the tournament is still underway, with Hibernian winning 1-0 yesterday at Dundee United to lead the championship and with three games scheduled for today at 8:45 p.m.: Motherwell-Livingston, Ross County-Kilmarnock and Rangers -St.Johnstone. For now, football will continue to the north of Great Britain although two irresponsibilities keep it on the edge of the abyss. Scottish football plays the red one.