A VIDEO circulating of Kyle Lafferty allegedly using sectarian language was filmed during a "team bonding session" with the Northern Ireland squad.
National team manager Ian Baraclough has revealed that Lafferty was part of the group who went to a restaurant to enjoy some time together away from the pitch last week.
Footage emerged last Wednesday of the Kilmarnock striker supposedly using a sectarian slur while speaking to a Celtic fan on a night out.
The clip, which shows Lafferty posing for a photo with the man, went viral online.
The Hoops fan said "Up the Celts" before the 35-year-old appeared to make a comment when leaving the situation.
Killie swiftly launched an investigation into the matter, with Northern Ireland sending the ex-Rangers and Hearts man home from their camp as a result.
Asked about the incident by the press, NI manager Baralough admitted his disappointment, after lifting the lid on the squad night out, said to be in Belfast, last Tuesday.
He said: "We all went out. We all went to the restaurant and we all came back. The players had a day off the next day. They are adults. They know they have got a responsibility and when they are on international duty they are still representing themselves, their clubs, their families and me.
"You can’t keep them couped up in a hotel and you give them a certain amount of trust. You hope that is the right thing to do going forward as well.
"We are talking about a team bonding session and people being themselves and seeing them in their natural state and at times you do have to learn from it. It might be something that we look at further down the line.
"It has always served Northern Irish teams really well when they have had that bit of time to themselves so for me it was something we weren’t expecting to wake up to those sorts of headlines and that type of news. I’m disappointed.
"It wasn’t as we were together at the restaurant. For me there is an enquiry ongoing on that so I suppose I can’t comment too much more on that."
It is understood the findings of the investigation will likely be concluded this week prior to Killie's match at Aberdeen on Saturday.
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