Celtic hero Chris Sutton believes "too much" has been made of his former team's controversial training trip to Dubai.
Neil Lennon 's side headed to the sun-kissed destination on Saturday in the wake of their defeat to Rangers and a storm has followed them during their winter voyage amid the pandemic.
A series of pictures emerged online which appeared to show Celtic stars contravening rules set out by the football authorities.
That has led to a series of statements and even First Minister Nicola Sturgeon becoming embroiled when she urged the SFA to look into the Hoops' stay.
But Sutton believes the Hoops should not receive retrospective punishment if the trip was rubber-stamped by the relevant authorities.
Speaking on the Record Celtic podcast, he said: "Due to the climate it was strange that Celtic travelled out. But having said that, I think too much has been made of this.
"It isn't a problem if they are following the correct guidelines and the correct procedure.
"This is where there seems to be a big grey area, but Celtic have come out and said that they got the clearance from the government.
"So in that respect, what is the problem?
"Celtic fans are complaining about this, but last season going to Dubai was a trip which transformed Celtic's season."
And Sutton doubled down on his assertion and believes the 19-point gap between themselves and rivals Rangers is immaterial when it comes to the decision to head to the United Arab Emirates.
He added: "We are talking about a football club planning their season and planning their training.
"It doesn't actually matter about the result or where they are in the league.
"It's about doing the right thing where the management team feel they're going to get the greatest benefit. It's as simple as that."
