Leigh Griffiths: Worst thing I read was I was a drug addict and in debt

Leigh Griffiths received rapturous acclaim from the Celtic support when he made his return to competitive action as an 80th- minute substitute in last weeks Champions League qualifier against Sarajevo. Picture: SNS.

He quickly discovered that is easier said than done. For while the Celtic striker temporarily removed himself from the online world, there was no escape from the innuendo and occasional ill will from others which his seven months on the sidelines  generated.

Griffiths is now firmly on the road to recovery, receiving rapturous acclaim from the Celtic support when he made his return to competitive action as an 80th-minute substitute in last week’s Champions League qualifier against Sarajevo.

But he still shakes his head ruefully at the effect the internet rumours had on his family, most notably his mother, Gloria, and his eight-year-old son, Rhys, while he confronted his mental illness.

“On my own part and Celtic’s part, I came off social media for a while,” said Griffiths. “The club wanted me to try to not look at the negative stuff on there.

“But social media has kind of taken over a lot of people’s lives now. Regardless of whether I was off it, my family members were still on it. They still pick up on things and say to me ‘Have you seen this?’ So I was still going to be aware of it.

“There was a lot of negative stuff and bad things said about me. They were so untrue, it was unbelievable.

“It wasn’t just bad stuff, it was ridiculous. The worst thing I read was that I was a massive drug addict and in a certain amount of debt. I actually started laughing.

“But the thing was that my mum was reading it as well. She knows I would never go into drugs or be in debt but it was more hurtful for her because she was seeing it rather than me.

“I can take it. I’ve had stick all my life. It doesn’t bother me. But my mum is reading that online and is then being asked questions, so it starts to put doubt in her mind. That was probably the worst.

“Also, my son watches videos on YouTube and he heard Rangers fans singing that I wouldn’t be playing football any more.

“I went up to see him one day and he asked me ‘Dad – are you going to be back playing football?’ I said – ‘Of course I will. Why?’ He’s like ‘I was watching YouTube and I came across a video where people were singing that you won’t be playing football any more.’

“So I told his mum just to keep him off it as he’s going to do himself damage watching stuff like that.

“But he watched the game last Wednesday and was probably more delighted than anybody to see me back on the pitch.”

Griffiths has been heartened by the overwhelming positivity and goodwill shown to him by supporters, not only of Celtic but of other clubs. But he admits that chant adopted by some Rangers fans may be on his mind when Celtic head to Ibrox for the first Old Firm match of the new season on 1 September.

“Yeah, it’ll be interesting to hear what they sing when that happens,” added the 28-year-old. “Listen, it’s rivalry and people sing about opposing players. I’m just glad to have had minutes under my belt and, the more that happens, the less they’ll sing about me.

“They can sing about me if they want. If they do that, then they’re leaving someone else in our team alone, so that doesn’t bother me. Would it make it sweeter to score against them this season? My record against them isn’t bad, to be fair, especially at Ibrox. It would be nice but it doesn’t matter who I score against because every goal is sweet.”

Griffiths’ last goal for Celtic was against Hamilton Accies back in November and he is hopeful of the chance to re-open his account in the first leg of the Champions League second qualifying round tie against Nomme Kalju in Glasgow tomorrow night. If Celtic overcome the Estonian champions, they will face either Cluj of Romania or Israeli champions Maccabi Tel Aviv in the third of the four qualifying rounds they must negotiate to reach the group stage.

“I will probably do a full lap of honour in my celebration when I score my first goal since coming back,” smiled Griffiths.

“It is just like being out with a long injury. Being a striker, you want that first chance and to score that first goal. I am no different. Hopefully, it is on Wednesday night. If not, I will wait my turn and when a chance does come I will put it away.

“I’ve got a decent record in the European qualifiers over the past few years, although I missed a good chance when we lost to AEK Athens last season. Everyone knows how tough it is now with the four rounds but, hopefully, I can help get us all the way this year.”