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Daily Record
Daily Record
Sport
Mark Pirie

Celtic ban BBC from Brendan Rodgers unveiling as reason behind national broadcaster lockout emerges

BBC Scotland were locked out of Brendan Rodgers' unveiling as the new Celtic boss was paraded at Parkhead for the first time.

The national broadcaster released a statement to say they are looking to resolve the matter following the press conference and that they are in discussions the Scottish Premiership champions over the reasons behind why they weren't allowed to attend and ask questions of the the incoming Celtic boss as he faced the media for the first time. It was the first time Rodgers responded to the press since he was announced as Ange Postecogou's successor following his departure for Tottenham.

A statement from the broadcaster read: “We’re sorry that Celtic did not allow us to access today’s media event. We are in discussions with the club in an effort to resolve the situation. BBC Scotland has asked Celtic for comment on the decision to deny the BBC access to the media conference and is awaiting a response."

Record Sport understands that the decision was taken following comments made in a BBC Scotland pundit's column that offered a critical viewpoint of Rodgers' appointment. It is believed Rodgers was described as "the shameless one". It follows some fans being angered by the appointment after he ended his first spell midway through the campaign to join Leicester City.

However, the majority of the Celtic Park support appear willing to forgive and forget. At his first press conference, he admitted he regretted causing the supporters "hurt".

The boss said: "It was a sad moment. I certainly don't regret it but what I do regret is the hurt that it caused people. It's the very reason I'm sat here today. As a Celtic supporter I understood what it meant, and probably more so when I left. That was my regret, that I hurt people who were Celtic supporters. And it was a big part of coming back."

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