Leigh Griffiths sent home from Celtic pre-season tour as police start online probe
Leigh Griffiths has been sent home from Celtic’s pre-season training camp after police began a probe into online activity.
Celtic are also investigating claims that Griffiths sent inappropriate messages to a 15-year-old girl on social media.
A Police Scotland spokesman said: “We have been made aware of social media content. We are making enquiries and assessing for criminality.”
Griffiths did not feature in Ange Postecoglou’s first friendly game in charge of the club as Celtic beat Sheffield Wednesday 3-1 in Newport on Wednesday afternoon.
A Celtic spokesperson told several media outlets: “We have been made aware of online comments concerning Leigh Griffiths. The club will now look into this matter carefully.
“Leigh has left the training camp as we do this.
“It would not be appropriate to make any further comment at this time.”
The forward had not been a regular starter under Neil Lennon and then caretaker manager John Kennedy last season. And last month ehe was heavily criticised by Lennon after returning is poor shape after lockdown.
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‘Let himself down’
Lennon told BBC Radio Scotland via the Daily Record: “He let himself down.
“He’s on full pay for the three months of lockdown and he comes back, totally out-of-condition and a stone overweight, when he couldn’t afford to be because he hadn’t played much football in the previous 18 months to two years.
“We had worked really hard with him to get him back on track and before lockdown, he was in the team and back scoring goals and doing absolutely fine and then he comes back completely out-of-condition, way, way behind any of the rest of them and for me, that was totally unacceptable.”
Celtic boss Ange Postecoglou was keen to keep the former Hibs man though and the Hoops took up a one-year option on the 30-year-old striker’s contract last week after his Parkhead future had been in doubt.
Griffiths, who also snubbed the opportunity to use the club’s training facilities at Lennoxtown during lockdown, was also left out of the Scotland squad for the Euro 2020 finals.
READ MORE: Postecoglou promises ‘extensive’ Celtic changes; jokes about their manager search
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