THE head of Scotland’s leading refugee charity has blasted Celtic star Leigh Griffiths for his racist video outburst .
Former Hibs striker Griffiths, 23, was filmed chanting “Rudi Skacel’s a f****** refugee” – a reference to the Czech-born former Hearts star.
Celtic yesterday said they have begun an inquiry into Griffiths’s behaviour on the video, revealed by our sister paper the Sunday Mail.
Manager Neil Lennon said two years ago that any racist outburst would be a “sackable offence”.
John Wilkes, chief executive of the Scottish Refugee Council, said yesterday that he was “appalled and disgusted” by the “raw racism and ignorance” in the video.
He added: “It shows Scotland still has a long way to go in the battle against prejudice and hatred.”
Wilkes went on: “Sadly, this reflects the all too common attitudes experienced by many refugees and people in the asylum process.
“It also starkly highlights the confusion many of the general public have about who refugees are and where they come from. Rudi Skacel is not a refugee, but an EU citizen with full rights to work in Scotland.
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“As a public figure who is a role model for many young people, Leigh Griffiths has a responsibility to set a good example. He has failed.”
Celtic fined Griffiths last week after a video showed him singing “Hearts are going bust” in a pub . Police are investigating his latest behaviour, with inquiries at an early stage.
Celtic said: “Due to an ongoing police investigation we are unable to comment. However, the club takes the allegations extremely seriously and have launched our own internal investigation.”
Griffiths was charged last year after allegedly sending a racist tweet telling a man to go “back to your own country ya clown”. The Crown Office say that allegation “remains under consideration”.