Chief Executive Peter Lawwell admitted that Celtic’s controversial decision to go to Dubai for a mid-season break was a “mistake” and apologized to Hoops fans.
The Parkhead club confirmed that Christopher Jullien tested positive for Covid-19, but everyone else and staff members tested negative after being tested after his return to Scotland from a training camp last Friday.
However, 13 players, coach Neil Lennon and assistant John Kennedy were considered to be close contacts and had to join the French defender in self-isolation and, amid widespread criticism, it was a makeshift Celtic team that attracted 1-1 with Hibernian on Monday night.
In an internal interview on the club’s official website, Lawwell said: “It has been an extremely difficult few days and in reflection, looking back and hindsight and looking at the outcome of the trip, it was clearly a mistake and for which I deeply apologize to our followers.
“We got out of here and the reason for the camp was largely with the best of intentions. Things have not turned out as we wanted and the result is clearly very regrettable ”.
The draw against Hibs left Celtic 21 points behind Rangers at the top of the Scottish Premiership with three games in hand and their 10-straight bet in jeopardy.
Lawwell said: “If you look back over the past four years, going to camp in Dubai has been a great success.
“And the decisions we made were entirely in the best interests of the team and the best interests of the club.
“What we had planned to do was take them back to these world-class facilities after a very busy schedule in November and December, which in the past has proven to be a huge performance benefit after January, to get at that level of performance again. ”
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