HIBS chief executive Ben Kensell insists claims of alleged coronavirus rule breaches from the Easter Road club are from the “blue half of Glasgow.” 

Earlier this week, a whistle-blower contacted the Daily Record to claim that some Hibs players had broken certain Covid protocols when staying in the Kingsmill Hotel in Inverness on Friday night ahead of their game with Ross County the following day. 

The source, described as a Glasgow businessman, alleged that members of Jack Ross’ squad were not wearing masks when inside certain areas of the premises where they should have been.  

The report came just two days after Hibs’ clash with County was postponed due to a coronavirus outbreak within the first team squad. 

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Since then, the rescheduled match has also been called off, as well as this weekend’s game with Livingston, with further cases confirmed within the playing squad. 

But Hibees chief Kensell is confident all rules were adhered to by Hibs staff – as he countered the allegations by claiming the source was looking to do no more than cause trouble. 

“Firstly, I’d look at the source of the information and it unsurprisingly comes from the blue side of Glasgow, which is a point of speculation in itself. 

“I’m confident in our processes and having investigated the claims, I trust out staff and players to carry out what’s required, to mitigate the spread of Covid. They’re aware of their responsibilities.  

“What I don’t want to do is focus on a comment from someone who is completely unrelated and is looking to create trouble. We’re talking about a much wider and larger issue that’s affecting the whole country here.  

“We’ve got one individual that just wants to create headlines. I find it disappointing at the very best.” 

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Elaborating on what evidence he had that the information came from the ‘blue side of Glasgow’, he continued: “I’m disappointed that either the things that people are saying are substantiated, or disappointed that our players didn’t keep their masks on. That’s what I mean by disappointed.  

“Ultimately, what I’m trying to deal with here is a real life situation that is affecting everyone – it’s decimated our squad. I’m only interested in the welfare of our players, our staff and our fans.  

“I’m not interested in answering questions that’s just tabloid speculation or anything of that nature. There are much bigger challenges here to deal with at Hibs than what one individual says in a hotel.”