IF Boli Bolingoli’s Celtic future was hanging by a thread after being usurped at left-back by Greg Taylor, then that has surely been severed by his reckless and selfish clandestine trip to Spain before appearing as a substitute in Sunday’s match at Kilmarnock.
That he would so casually place in jeopardy the health of his teammates and opponents, the financial future of all of our football clubs by risking a postponement of the season, not to mention his own career in such a way is staggering. Particularly so, when you consider the words of his manager, Neil Lennon, just last week after eight Aberdeen players were caught flouting the Covid-19 guidelines.
“We can’t risk it anymore,” said Lennon. “We can’t have a social life or a normal life, we have to be standard bearer for the rest of the country now in terms of coping with this as best as we possibly can.
“We’ve told our players and staff that, from now on, it’s training ground, home and games – and that’s the way it has to be. We’ve come so far, and everyone has worked so hard behind the scenes – the medical people and government people – to get the game up and running.
“It would be such a shame and really sore if we had to close it down again, so we really have to be on our guard from now on, at least in the short term.”
Unbeknown to Lennon, Bolingoli had already taken advantage of two days off to have a mini break in Spain. Two days in the sun that now puts all of the work done by his own club, the rest of Scottish football, the Joint Response Group and the Scottish Government to get football back in some shape or form at risk.
That Bolingoli appeared to be in danger of losing his place at the club on the back of his on-field displays is neither here nor there, though it may have put Celtic in a rather more awkward position had the offender been a key asset like Odsonne Edouard.
As it is, I can’t see any way back for Bolingoli at Celtic now. The disrespect he has shown to his manager and the slap in the face after Lennon took such a strong stance last week should be enough alone to see him shown the door.
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