Two former Celtic players named among Aberdeen 8

Two former Celtic players have been named among the Aberdeen 8 who have been forced into isolation and stirred controversy by breaking COVID-19 rules.

The Scottish season had only begun before it was dealt its first blow. There was always bound to be someone who broke rules and ended up with the virus, but nobody could have expected that to happen after the very first matchday. And that has (and perhaps rightfully) raised questions whether footballers are responsible enough to play in the midst of a pandemic. Unfortunately, two former Celtic players are involved in the situation.

Following their 1-0 defeat against Rangers in an uninspired display, eight Aberdeen players decided to head out for a couple of drinks. But things quickly went south after two of them ended up contracting COVID-19 and all eight of them have been put into isolation since then. As a result, Aberdeen’s games have been postponed for the foreseeable future.

The eight players have been named today. There were The group consisted of Sam Cosgrove, Scott McKenna, Craig Bryson, Jonny Hayes, Bruce Anderson, Dylan McGeouch, Michael Devlin and Matty Kennedy. Of course, Jonny Hayes and Dylan McGeouch have represented the Hoops in the past.

As reported by the Daily Record, Aberdeen released an apology on behalf of the players:

"“First and foremost we would like to apologise to every AFC fan, the mananger, everyone at the club, the football authorities, the First Minister, all healthcare workers along with everyone else that has worked tirelessly around the clock to get the country, and in particular football, back up and running again.“We, as a small group of players, made a huge error of judgement last weekend by thinking it was OK to visit a city centre venue together.“None of us could have foreseen the escalation of Covid-19 cases in the Grampian area, nor did we deliberately attempt to flaunt or disobey Government guidelines which we all must adhere to, or indeed the clear guidelines set out by the club.“This was by no means a team night out as has been portrayed and while we attempted to comply with government social distancing guidelines, we now recognise that our group of eight exceeded the number of households permitted to meet up. This was a genuine error on our part as professional football players and, in doing so, we have let our manager down.“As players we appreciate our club has gone above and beyond to put protocols in place to protect us and it was never our intention to put that in jeopardy, or to put our team-mates or football staff at risk.“As a player group, we once again apologise unreservedly to the fans, the manager, the board and all the staff at the club.”"

As a society we are in the middle of uncertain times and even a small mistake can lead to the postponement of the Scottish league, perhaps even result in it getting cancelled. Thus, all the players must tread carefully and hopefully this was the wake up call that they needed.