Hatem Abd Elhamed has become the first Celtic player to speak in public about the impact of football being suspended.
Scott Brown gave an optimistic preview of the Glasgow derby on Thursday but by the time Neil Lennon faced the media the following day the match had been postponed.
Elhamed missed four months of football through injury before enjoying a 20 minute outing in the 5-0 win over St Mirren but could now be facing a similar time out of action as the game attempts to cope with the Coronavirus.
The defender told The Sun:
The club have told us we won’t be playing football until UEFA tell us what to do. I was training for the Rangers v Celtic game and now we are off for at least ten days. The feeling here in Scotland is that UEFA will decide what all leagues will do.
There is uncertainty and everyone is asking where we are going from here. We have a very big points gap at the top of the table and we are on our way to winning the championship.
Now we are wondering if we will be champions if they decide to end the season. It’s a shame, but it’s not in our hands. It’s something global.
I think there have been a few instances in the UK that footballers have been infected with the coronavirus and it has made a big impact.
Here in Scotland, everything is normal because the restaurants and shopping malls are open, but that’s constantly changing. Personally, I am very disappointed with what is happening because I have been without football for four months and returned to play after a very long period of recovery and rehabilitation.
It is difficult for a footballer to go through the day in the middle of the season without football. That’s what we do and that’s our life
Next week’s Scotland v Israel Euro 2020 play-off is expected to be officially postponed today with UEFA hosting a video conference call tomorrow.
The finals of Euro 2020 seem certain to be a casualty of the Coronavirus with the football authorities unlikely to be able to offer a timetable for the resumption of the game.
With so much uncertainty it seems likely that the current league positions will be declared the final standings allowing clubs to collect prize money and plan for next season- whenever it starts.
