Jordan Jones and George Edmundson suspended by club for breaching Covid restrictions

[ian1964 10,724]

• Kris Boyd

• 2 Nov 2020, 21:44
• Updated: 2 Nov 2020, 21:44

FOR their sake I hope it was one helluva party.

Because for Jordan Jones and George Edmundson, that late night out on Sunday has just cost them their Rangers careers.

I can’t see any way back for the pair after this.

Their brainless stupidity may have been a rush of blood to the head. I can’t think they made a conscious decision to risk everything by attending what the kids these days call “a gaff”.

But that’s neither here nor there.

The fact is, there are no excuses for their decision to party with a load of people when they should have been tucked up in bed.

In normal times, these things happen. I’ve been there myself, back in the day, when you fancy a beer or two and off you go. But the world isn’t a normal place right now.

There are rules there to protect footballers and the game from an awful virus that’s showing no signs of letting up any time soon.

Jones and Edmundson are not young kids any more. They should have known better and deserve all that’s coming to them.

Maybe Rangers will go easy. Maybe they’ll wrap their knuckles and fine them a few weeks’ wages for stepping out of line.

But if you’re asking me if there is any way back for them, then I have to say I can’t see it.

In my opinion, we won’t see them in a light blue jersey again. Chances are, they will be shipped out as soon as the transfer window opens.

It’s an issue of trust. And I suspect Steven Gerrard will take a dim view of two players who weren’t thinking about the team when they decided it was time to party.

Let’s get it right — this isn’t in the same ballpark as the controversial incidents at Celtic and Aberdeen earlier this season.

Eight lads at Pittodrie went out on the town, while Boli Bolingoli jumped on a plane and flew off to Spain for a break, for crying out loud.

Jones and Edmundson aren’t as bad as that lot. But they still let their manager, team-mates and club down on Sunday night.

They showed a real lack of professionalism and for the life of me I can’t understand it.

Okay, so they are both fringe players. They weren’t involved against Kilmarnock at Rugby Park, and aren’t in the squad for the European game this week.

They had Monday off and, in normal circumstances, I can understand why they would want to let off some steam.

Had they been due to train on Monday morning then chances are they wouldn’t have switched on their disco lights. But it’s just as well for them that they got caught.

Can you imagine the uproar had they waltzed into the training ground yesterday morning, and it didn’t emerge they had been to a party until later in the week?

Rangers are very lucky in that regard. They were obviously tipped off about things and were able to act swiftly. Had that not happened — and Jones and Edmundson mixed with other players — then this whole thing would be ten times worse.

I would have been saying Rangers would have needed to forfeit points for games postponed, just as I said for Celtic and Aberdeen.

But this is different so that’s not an issue, even though some hard-of-understanding Celtic supporters out there will no doubt be claiming double standards on my part.

Fact is, Rangers nipped this in the bud before it became an issue. And all they need to do is discipline the two players involved.

For me, that’s only going to end one way for the two of them. Badly.

In years to come they’ll surely look back and ask themselves what the hell they were thinking.

But it is hard to have any sympathy.

Being at Rangers, or Celtic for that matter, is all about dealing with the pressure you’re under, both on the park and off it.

 If you fall short, then you don’t belong there.

That may sound harsh, but it’s the reality of life as an Old Firm player.

I would cut them some slack for the fact they haven’t been able to force their way into the team lately.

But on the other hand there will be a reason for that. Have they been training hard enough or going through the motions? I don’t know, but this doesn’t look good on either of them.

I played with Jordan at Kilmarnock and he deserved to get his move to Rangers. He earned it for his performance and I was delighted for him.

But to throw it away like this baffles me.

These lads must have seen the outrage with Bolingoli and the boys at Aberdeen.

They must have known what was in store if they got caught.

And in this day and age, moving under the radar as an Old Firm player in Glasgow is virtually impossible. The way I see it, though, that won’t be something they need to worry about soon enough.

 

https://www.thescottishsun.co.uk/sport/football/6231336/jones-edmundson-rangers-careers-over-kris-boyd/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Twitter#Echobox=1604353577

[Uilleam 5,948]

https://www.glasgowtimes.co.uk/news/18841102.scottish-fa-set-launch-investigation-covid-rule-breaks-rangers-duo-jordan-jones-george-edmundson/?ref=eb

 

THE Scottish FA will launch an investigation into breaches of Coronavirus regulations by Rangers pair Jordan Jones and George Edmundson after they were suspended by the Ibrox board on Monday.

Jones and Edmundson broke Covid guidelines by attending a house party in Glasgow on Sunday night and will now face an internal club probe after being ordered to complete a14-day period of isolation.

Police Scotland confirmed on Monday that officers had attended an address in Glasgow at 1:25am and issued ten Fixed Penalty Notices before the gathering was dispersed.

Jones and Edmundson were not part of the Rangers squad that won 1-0 away to Kilmarnock on Sunday lunchtime as Steven Gerrard’s side opened up a nine-point advantage in the Premiership title race thanks to James Tavernier’s first half penalty.

And the pair are now fighting to save their Gers careers after infuriating the Ibrox board by breaking strict Government and club guidelines designed to minimise the spread of Coronavirus.

Stewart Robertson, the Rangers Managing Director, insisted the club would ‘not tolerate’ the behaviour of Jones and Edmundson and both could find themselves punished by the SFA in the coming days.

It is the latest Covid controversy to rock Scottish football and comes at a time when First Minister Nicola Sturgeon is enforcing increasingly stringent measures across parts of the country.

 

Rangers won’t find themselves at the centre of a probe from the SPFL but the SFA will look into the matter having previously taken action against Celtic and Aberdeen for the rule breaks by Boli Bolingoli and the so-called ‘Aberdeen Eight’ at the start of the campaign.

Celtic and Aberdeen were fined £30,000 – most of which was suspended – in September, while the Dons players were given suspended three-match bans and Bolingoli was banned for five games, two of which were suspended, following his trip to Spain.

And the SFA will now launch an investigation into the conduct of Jones and Edmundson as the Ibrox pair look set to find themselves in the Hampden dock as well as battling for their Ibrox futures.

[MacK1950 2,378]

Unable to see how SFA can take action against us as both were suspended without having come into contact with fellow players,whereas the sheep players took part in training afterwards and the mhank actually played some minutes.

There again it is big bad Rangers!!!!.

[the gunslinger 3,366]

Scottish press reverting to type re rangers. 

 

did this end any of the Aberdeen players careers at the club. 

 

Bolingoi was already being driven out this just gave celtc an excuse not to be blamed for signing a dud. 

 

These guys should be punished then we move on. 

 

If we went them to go they go and if not that's fine. 

[der Berliner 3,747]

19 hours ago, Rousseau said:

Depends which player it is and who's responding. 

 

If it's Tavernier, @der Berliner would have him hung, drawn and quartered. 

 

 

Actually no. I questioned Tavs ability as a defender, as he was far too inconsistent with his performances in this department or his role as a captain/leader. Yet no-one could seemingly displace him in the eyes of the manager - IMHO, also questionable. This season he has - finally - regained the form of his first season and kept it running. Kudos to him and long may it continue. A kick in the back during those last two seasons might have done him a wolrd of good too, but it never happened.

 

Josh Windass, I remember that name.

 

[26th of foot 6,084]

The feeding frenzy is a conditioned response. The SFA want to be seen extracting their pound of flesh.

 

Rangers as a club seem to have been made aware of the incident within minutes of police intervention. The timeous suspensions and ensuing statement have been congratulated by the the Scottish Government. Rangers are holding the trump card.

 

I note Rangers have been fined approx £4,5000 by UEFA for a Covid contravention during the Galatasaray game. It's good to know during lockdowns/Tiers/local restrictions that members of FARE still get access to Ibrox.

[Bluedell 5,627]

25 minutes ago, 26th of foot said:

Rangers as a club seem to have been made aware of the incident within minutes of police intervention. 

It's been suggested that the players themselves informed the club as soon as the police were involved, which was the only sensible thing they did that night.

[der Berliner 3,747]

32 minutes ago, 26th of foot said:

The feeding frenzy is a conditioned response. The SFA want to be seen extracting their pound of flesh.

 

Rangers as a club seem to have been made aware of the incident within minutes of police intervention. The timeous suspensions and ensuing statement have been congratulated by the the Scottish Government. Rangers are holding the trump card.

 

I note Rangers have been fined approx £4,5000 by UEFA for a Covid contravention during the Galatasaray game. It's good to know during lockdowns/Tiers/local restrictions that members of FARE still get access to Ibrox.

Wasn't that something with regards to the stewarding in the coaching zones? 

[Uilleam 5,948]

7 minutes ago, der Berliner said:

Wasn't that something with regards to the stewarding in the coaching zones? 

"....Rangers were yesterday fined £4,520 by Uefa for breaching the “Return to Play” guidelines in their Europa League play-off victory against Galatasaray last month.

The club breached rule 13.3.1 that states: “The accreditation system must allow stewards to clearly identify who is authorised to be in which zone at what time. The stadium safety and security officers, stewards and private security must be clearly briefed about both the stadium zoning system and the various times, as well as the importance of its application. All staff working in the stadium must be asked to respect the system and to cooperate fully with stewards.”...."

 

(https://www.thetimes.co.uk/edition/scotland/rangers-punish-party-pair-jordan-jones-and-george-edmundson-for-breaching-covid-rules-2rtlqhcmz)

 

 

I hope that clears it up, dB. 

[Bluedell 5,627]

28 minutes ago, Uilleam said:

I hope that clears it up, dB. 

No, no really.