Former Scotland forward Frank McAvennie has apologized after describing Celtic player Auston Trusty's extended absence from games following his father's death as 'woke nonsense'. Trusty announced the death of his father, Walt, last month, and has since missed four matches for Celtic.
McAvennie, who played for Celtic in two spells, questioned the length of Trusty's absence on his "Let Me Be Frank Podcast." He stated, "I've got every respect for that, but how long do you want off? Martin says he's away to celebrate the life of his dad. Celebrate the life? You've got football. You're getting paid and we're in trouble. How long is it going to be? It’s the woke brigade now, isn’t it? It’s nonsense. My dad was the best man, the only man I looked up to when he died, but you’ve got to get on with it."
Following a backlash to his comments, McAvennie, 66, admitted "I should have chosen my words more carefully." He continued, "I can understand why people feel my comments were insensitive, and looking back, I should have chosen my words more carefully. Everyone deals with grief differently, and I certainly meant no disrespect to Auston or his family. Celtic need the big man back, and that's what I was clumsily trying to say. I wish him and his family all the very best."
Celtic manager Martin O'Neill had confirmed prior to a match against Falkirk that Trusty was still unavailable as he was "celebrating the life of his dad." Celtic lost that match 2-0, and have won only one of the four games played in Trusty's absence.
Despite these recent results, Celtic remains four points clear at the top of the Scottish Premiership, though rivals Rangers have a game in hand. The team is set to face Turkish side Besiktas in the Europa League on Thursday, having lost all three of their previous group stage matches.