From spring 2020 Jason Leitch was the friendly, cheery face and voice tasked with explaining Lockdown restrictions to the Scottish public.
Round the clock media appearances saw him questioned on a whole variety of scenarios as he explained the quickly changing laws of the land that brought social distancing into every home in the country.
With the title of National Clinical Director he became a weekly fixture on Off The Ball, sharing the cheeky boayz banter with Stuart and Tam while football came to a standstill then re-emerged behind closed doors with a host of restrictions apparently applied to all clubs, but not quite universally.
As the clubs returned to training with strict protocols Steven Gerrard and Micky Beale car shared into Murray Park without any punishment from the SFA or Government mutterings.
After getting their test results through Dundee United played a friendly at Murray Park against opponents who hadn’t been tested in the 24 hours before the match. One of the assistant referees was refused entry to Murray Park because is test result hadn’t came through.
Eager for game time the home club pushed on with the match, their players benefited with the SFA and SPFL saying and doing nothing. A precedent was set, that club took full advantage of it with their testing carried out in an East Belfast lab leaving Gerrard’s squad intact as they played against opponents that routinely had players self isolating.
An unelected Scottish Government advisor, Jason Leitch, sending a message to the then minister for public health calling for tougher punishment against Aberdeen Football Club in August 2020. pic.twitter.com/LCn0pDkuyT
— Chris McCall (@Dennynews) January 23, 2024
The conversation above took place after it came to light that Boli Bolingoli had enjoyed a return flight to Spain between matches against Hamilton and Kilmarnock with the full-back coming on as a substitute at Rugby Park.
It says everything about the arrogance of Peter Lawwell and lack of leadership and responsibility from Neil Lennon that they knew nothing of Bolingoli’s sunshine trip, foreign travel was allowed but on return it required 14 days self isolation- a few days after returning to Prestwick Bolingoli was running around against Kilmarnock.
It seems that incident really got to Leitch. Unlike the breaches involving Gerrard and Beale and the lack of testing at Murray Park, Leitch was all over it. As you might expect from someone who attended Airdrie Academy.
On Off The Ball the banter continued without reference to the man from Airdrie having a favourite football club, a theme for almost all guests on the show.
Lawwell and Lennon presided over an incredible catalogue of disasters during that season, their names will forever be associated with a season that turned into a shambles.
From the autumn Celtic’s top duo were planning a training camp in Dubai that cost the club more than £500,000 and ended with 14 players and two coaches self isolating, missing two matches after the benefits of training in the sunshine.
Leitch didn’t force them to go to Dubai while justifying it to a nation in Lockdown, it was typical of the judgement of Lawwell and Lennon.
But one release of text messages show the intent and motivations of the former Airdrie Academy pupil.
Later in the season it took the SFA six weeks to deal with a party attended to by Nathan Patterson, Calvin Bassey and other Ibrox stars, later that year after starting just four SPFL matches Patterson was unexpectedly named in the Scotland squad for the European Championships.
Jason Leitch called for Aberdeen to be docked points after several of its players were pictured breaking social distancing rules.https://t.co/fRg7F4cfEJhttps://t.co/fRg7F4cfEJ
— Chris McCall (@Dennynews) January 23, 2024
I also don’t see how he could have made any decision about points deduction. That surely falls only within the remit of the sports governing body. Otherwise match fixing could have been argued as no set rules on who should lose points
— Lynsay Moore (@MooreLynsay) January 23, 2024
Stopped listening to off the ball because of his endless fear-mongering I have never went back to listening to it either
— Jed MacPhee (@JedmacPhee) January 23, 2024
Well now you will understand why I don’t vote SNP or Keir with the purple tie So it will be just the usual go to the polling station and spoil my vote
The most disgraceful and absurd one was the Scott Arfield birthday party where several the Rangers players were in attendance but a no show from the host at his own pow wow soiree … convenient after the fact ! If memory serves , big Calvin Basset got docked 2 mars bars a week for being in attendance …maybe it was 3 ? A lot of government officials took a vow of silence on that one not to mention those rather loyal SMSM types too .
Another PONCE from the klan klub,definitely something of the night about Leitch some right dodgy sleekit shit going on with him,I will leave that thought with you all,you can all make your own mind up on it.
The bollingoli affair stiinks to high heaven it was all downhill after that trying to play catch up hopefully one day we will get to the facts of why it happened.
Knew the expert was a fanny , when I was telling people to wear masks and stay apart, and he was telling them to travel on trains to meet their granny. And like most of these people the arrogance shone out him.
Jason Leitch……..Airdrie Academy………hmmmmm!
Perhaps he should be asked what he thinks of a now dead club playing illegally registered players for years…..clearly he’d say “they should forfeit every game with a 0-3 loss and any titles won should be stripped.”
“Oh wait, it was Rangers you say?…….och I was just having a laugh, of course it was all okay, I mean the football authorities said so, right?”