The winger is currently injured as he watches the conflict between his home country and Palestine unfold from afar
Brendan Rodgers has offered advice to Liel Abada if some Celtic fans decide to take issue with the winger when he returns from his current injury
Abada’s home country Israel is in the midst of a deadly conflict with Palestine, with his family still in the thick of it. The 22-year-old held talks with the Celtic hierarchy after the Green Brigade produced banners supporting Palestine on the same day trouble flared in the Middle East. The club then released a statement criticising the ultras group before the Green Brigade retorted and called them ‘hypocritical’.
Abada has even been told to leave Parkhead as a result by some of his compatriots. But Rodgers has played the father figure role for his crocked winger and revealed on Friday that he took Abada out for a meal in Loch Lomond to help support him as much as possible. And the Northern Irishman also offered advice to Abada in the event some Celtic fans are hostile towards him when he eventually makes a return to the pitch after his injury clears up.
Rodgers simply told Abada to ignore them, before adding: “I gave my own example. You sometimes have to override that. A group of supporters didn’t want me here, but that was never going to stop me coming back.
“My love of the club, I came back here for Celtic and I wanted to do well and create a legacy that is greater than what it was my first time here. So sometimes you have to override that.
“You never want any relationship to be toxic. It doesn’t work. You want to minimise the enemies you have in your life whether it is football or life, in general.
“But take the opportunity to build those relationships is how I would always do it, by trying to do the right things.
“So for Liel it’s just a case of it’s clearly not nice, but we’ll look after him and talk to him and support him from there.”