John Barnes feels Celtic’s Dubai trip was “judged unfairly” due to the Hoops’ current form.

Neil Lennon and his players travelled to the UAE for a mid-season training camp and were heavily criticised for the decision.

Following their return defender Christopher Jullien tested positive for Covid-19 and a further player has since come down with the virus.

Barnes is still to make his mind up on whether his former side should be punished for their trip but he does feel sympathetic towards Parkhead manager Lennon.

He told BonusCodeBets: “With Celtic, I am unsure as to whether they should be reprimanded for their trip to Dubai. Neil Lennon said he wasn’t going to apologise for the trip and having a beer at the hotel, because they broke no laws in doing so. There is nothing wrong with having a beer, but the fact of the matter is, they are losing matches, and if you lose matches, you are always going to get criticised.

“Is he (Neil Lennon) helping himself because they’re not doing particularly well? Is he alienating people, the press, and Scottish ministers by having a go at them all? He must do what he thinks is right. I feel they’ve been judged unfairly in some ways, but the whole incident has been highlighted because of their form, and how far they sit behind Rangers.

“Lennon made his point that they checked they were able to go on a trip to Dubai, all the team were COVID tested and abided by social distancing rules professionally. Teams that have stayed in England have had lots of COVID cases, so it doesn’t mean that they got COVID cases purely from being in Dubai.

“If Neil Lennon as a manager felt that the trip was what they needed to help them challenge Rangers, then that is up to him. A trip away in some warm weather, better facilities and good team bonding could have helped Celtic improve. He may feel that the trip was the right thing for them to do.”