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Daily Record
Daily Record
Sport
Steven Mair

Ian Maxwell provides Rangers 5 probe update as he issues 'nothing to see' verdict on Celtic in Dubai

SFA chief executive Ian Maxwell insists there's "nothing to see" regarding Celtic's ill-fated January trip to Dubai - but confirmed an investigation into the Rangers Five remains ongoing.

The Parkhead club were roundly criticised for travelling to the UAE in the winter for a training camp.

Injured defender Christopher Jullien tested positive for Covid-19 shortly after returning to Glasgow and that prompted a spate of self-isolation orders on first-team players, plus then-gaffer Neil Lennon.

With a large number of first-team stars staying at home the club then drew two games with coach Gavin Strachan in charge, and an apology from chief executive Peter Lawwell followed.

But the SFA opted not to punish Celtic and speaking to Sky Sports, Maxwell said: "We said at the time that the decision to go to Dubai was approved by the government under the exemption and there was nothing for us to get involved with in that.

"Clubs have worked incredibly hard, they’ve done a huge amount to make sure they are compliant with the protocols.

"From a compliance perspective, there is nothing to see in terms of Celtic in Dubai and anything else that crops up, we will then deal with."

Rangers meanwhile were taken by surprise when five players were found to have attended a party in lockdown, including first-team stars Nathan Patterson, Calvin Bassey and Bongani Zungu.

The players still await a possible sanction from the governing body and on that case, Maxwell continued: "I’m not going to go into specifics while the compliance process is going on.

"Players have made mistakes the same as people have made mistakes across all sectors from the highest down to the lowest level. People are people and things will go wrong at times.

"Clubs and the vast majority of Scottish football should be commended.

"People make mistakes, they are not making those mistakes because they are footballers, across every walk of life there are people making mistakes because of Covid and I think we need to separate that from being a Scottish football problem."

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