Boyata’s surprising admission on Green Brigade’s controversial banner

But back then and as is the case this season, the Champions League qualifiers are ongoing for teams like Celtic and we have a tie against AEK Athens to negotiate, an opponent that Celtic should have been able to see off.

Celtic’s unhappy summer of 2018

The game at Celtic Park had ended in a 1-1 draw on the night John McGinn signed for Aston Villa, so it was all down to the second leg in Athens and for that Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers was hoping to have Boyata back in the team after his injury concern.

Boyata refutes to play, Celtic lost 2-1 in Athens and were eliminated from the Champions League. Boyata wanted to leave, Celtic probably wanted the money from Fulham but Brendan Rodgers put his foot down and Boyata, where he had to come back to Paradise where the Green Brigade’s ‘not fit to wear the jersey’ banner was cutting to say the least and also divided the support.

Boyata scored that afternoon against Hamilton at Celtic Park and went onto see out the season, with Celtic losing the transfer fee. He signed for Hertha Berlin where he became captain and a respected Bundesliga player. More recently he joined Club Brugge and you may remember him doing the Paradise Windfall this season when the Belgian Champions played Celtic in the Champions League.

Boyata has been speaking to the behind-a-paywall, Newsquest owned Celtic Way about his time at Celtic and the controversy summarised above.

“There was interest in me when I came back from the World Cup, especially from England, and Celtic still had Champions League qualifiers to negotiate,” Botyata recalled.

“The question was how Celtic were going to deal with me”

“The question was how Celtic were going to deal with me; should I stay or should I leave? The first AEK Athens game was just before the English transfer deadline, and were we taking a risk with me? I had a blowout with the coach over that. I had a hamstring strain, and Celtic felt that I could have done more and participated in the away game.

“The Champions League qualifiers are important to a club like Celtic, and I think they believed that they could have advanced over AEK Athens in the two legs. The transfer window closed, and Fulham had reputedly offered £9 million to sign me. With all the people you have around you and advising you, you just always try to make the right decision,” Boyata said.

“It was just sad that all these things went on, as it was all so unnecessary. It did affect me at the time, I cannot lie about that. There was a lot of speculation, and negative things were said about me. It was difficult to concentrate on football.

“I love Celtic and the time I spent there”

“It is not nice to be in these kinds of situations. I love Celtic and the time I spent there, but this was an episode that was very sad during my time in Glasgow. I came back from injury and played more games that season, so that showed everybody the kind of character that I had.

“You have the player who finds himself dealing with situations on the pitch, then you have issues off the pitch surrounding family and the future. Then you have the football fan who comes to the game and just wants to see his team win and the players perform. The question for them is that they don’t know how you, as a player, are supposed to feel at home when things like this are affecting you.

“It is different. That is why we have created a shell for footballers to perform every week, because if players were asked to speak every day about their own problems to justify their performance, it would never work. That’s the hard part of the game, but it is far outweighed by the good parts,” the former Celtic defender said.

Green Brigade’s banner missed its target 

On the Green Brigade’s observation that day against Hamilton it seems that it did NOT hit home as The big Belgian says he didn’t even see it.

“I am not lying when I tell you I did not see the banner! It was pointed out to me after the match. I think scoring the winner showed everybody at Celtic where my commitment and my loyalties lay. Up until then, I enjoyed a very good relationship with the coaches and the staff at Celtic.

“It is supposed to be all about the football, isn’t it?”

“When I was put in that situation, it was difficult for me. When you find yourself in those situations, you don’t know how you are supposed to react. It is supposed to be all about the football, isn’t it?

“A player who doesn’t play well is always going to be criticised, but my goal was just to play football. When you play football and you hear fans booing you, it is very difficult, but at the end of the day, it is all about football, and I ended up scoring the goal that day against Hamilton, which turned out to be the winner. That is a good story.”

It’s all water under the bridge Dedryck

It’s all water under the bridge Dedryck and no-one involved come out of it with much credit, it certainly did harm Celtic. And on that day against Hamilton a sizeable majority of the crowd at Celtic Park gave you their full backing.

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