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Caitlin Hayes suspension at Celtic Women denied as Elena Sadiku plays down rift rumours
Elena Sadiku has played down a fallout with Caitlin Hayes ahead of Celtic Women’s Champions League clash with Chelsea on Wednesday night.
The Republic of Ireland international was left out of the squad for the last two games over Queen’s Park and Glasgow City. It has been suggested that a disagreement with Sadiku was behind her absence with the player not in attendance at New Douglas Park to oversee either victory.
It is also believed she did not take part in training since the win over Motherwell before returning to join in with the squad on Tuesday. However, the Swede has insisted there was no formal or informal suspension for the defender who has become the poster girl for the Celtic women’s side.
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Sadiku said: “I think my answer has always been that she has been resting and that is the same answer that I am going to give you because she has not been suspended. I think you can trust me when I say she has not been suspended. She has been rested.”
Asked if there is a reason why Hayes would need to be rested, Sadiku said: “I mean, like, if that is a reason she is being rested then there is a reason but that is something I don’t want to talk about. But she has been resting. She is back and she has been training so there is no issues with that.
“She has been back in training, everything is fine. She has been resting. Yes [she is in the squad]. She has been resting and now she is back. There is nothing else to talk about.”
Celtic have ambitions of attracting a five figure attendance for the Chelsea game at Celtic Park, for which tickets remain available. And Sadiku has appealed to the club support to turn out in order to give her side the same kind of energy and lift that Brendan Rodgers’ side enjoy on Champions League nights.
“I want as many as possible,” she said. “What we have done so far is an amazing achievement for the club and for the players and I want the players to get the best atmosphere possible so they enjoy the moment and get that extra energy. It helps the perform the best football they can do because they deserve it.
“There are eight teams in total who have both a men’s and a women’s team in the Champions League and that is very special. We are talking about big clubs like Bayern Munich and Real Madrid…not even Chelsea.
“Celtic is part of that and, for me, if you are a Celtic fan you should support the big history we are creating as a club. These girls deserve the best possible support. For them I would like 40,000 – I am aiming big! But I would like as many as possible into the ground. The girls have done so well and I would like them to have the support that they deserve.”
Meanwhile, the Hoops boss has insisted that her side are not daunted by taking on last season’s Champions League semi-finalists. “This experience has taught us that this is just a normal game,” she said. “The occasion is huge but we still need to do what we can do which is playing football the way we play. We knew it would be tough but we are going to learn, we are going to grow and we are going to get stronger as a team from playing here.”
