Lennon 'disappointed' Celtic have been charged over Bolingoli

Neil Lennon has said he is disappointed the SPFL has charged Celtic with breaking the rules over coronavirus safety.

The league announced on Friday it was charging the club after Celtic defender Boli Bolingoli travelled to Spain and back and failed to quarantine, playing against Kilmarnock days later.

Lennon felt that Celtic had done everything they could to put safety first at the club, introducing measures and equipment at the stadium and training centre.

“I’m disappointed for the club,” he said. “I think they’ve been at the forefront of getting the game up and running.

“They’ve put in place all the procedures, all the protocols and it’s all down to the actions of one individual.

“But we put our hands up last week and said if we are accountable then we’ll have to accept that, take it and move on.

“What we don’t want is for the game to shut down again and for any mishaps, if you want to call it that. We’ve had two clubs, Aberdeen and ourselves, who are embroiled in this.

“I think it’s unfortunate from our point of view, from my point of view as a manager, and the players and staff. We’ve worked really hard, tirelessly, as have people at the club, and we’re still trying to set the highest standards we can.”

The Celtic manager said there was “no conclusion” to the club’s disciplinary procedures against Bolingoli as yet.

After being forced to sit out their last two SPFL games because of the incident, Lennon is now preparing his side for the Champions League qualifier against KR Reykjavik on Tuesday.

He said that although they had missed out on competitive action, the squad had enjoyed a full week of training ahead of the game and were well aware of its importance.

“It is important for them and it’s important for the club,” he said.

“We’ve only had two competitive games so I think this game is really important for a lot of reasons.

“Reykjavik played on Friday and before that they had a shutdown but, for me, the game is all about us.

“We are at home, it is one leg. The preparation has been good even though we missed out on a couple of games.

“We have given plenty of respect to Reykjavik but we are expecting a strong performance from ourselves.”