Neil Lennon- I could see it was a penalty from fifty yards away
Three of a kind
Neil Lennon has slammed referee Craig Thomson’s performance after losing 2-0 to Hearts tonight.
Thomson denied Celtic a clear penalty when Ryan Stevenson raised his hand to take the ball away from Gary Hooper 10 yards from goal- moments later Lennon was sent from the dug out and watched the remainder of the match on an ESPN monitor.
Referee Thomson is no stranger to missing penalties for Celtic and was forced into an apology through his mentor Hugh Dallas for denying Celtic a penalty at Ibrox last October.
Thomson denied Celtic two clear penalties in the same game at Ibrox, booked Shaun Maloney and Mark Wilson for simulation and allowed Kyle Lafferty away with an x-rated attack on Zheng Zhi.
Tonight he booked Gary Hooper for simulation when it was clear that the player stumbled as he attempted to go round the keeper while overstretching to keep the ball in play.
With uncertainty and insecurity haunting the inner circle of refereeing with Dallas under scrutiny Thomson turned in another sub-standard performance that must leave SFA Chief Executive Stewart Regan shaking his head at his inheritance.
“I was fifty yards away and I could see it,” Lennon told ESPN about the penalty incident. “I think television replays will show that it is a clear hand ball.
“If the referee didn’t see it I don’t understand why the standside linesman didn’t see it. Once again I’m having to talk about referees when I don’t really want to.”
After Celtic’s 2-1 win over Dundee United last month Lennon was lied to by Dougie Dougie after the match who claimed that he disallowed a penalty awarded for a foul on Gary Hooper because of the intervention of the assistant referee.
No apology has been issued to Lennon by Dougie Dougie, Dallas or the SFA which left the Celtic boss wondering if it was worthwhile to approach Thomson after tonight’s shocking display from the whistler.
Replying to a question about the penalty Lennon admitted: “I’m still waiting on clarification, I don’t know whether I’ll bother about seeing the referee- is it worth it?
“I’m very disappointed with some of his decisions tonight and very disappointed with the sending off.”
Television evidence suggested that Ledley did foul Ian Black at the ordering off but whether it was a red card offence is open to debate.
Lennon had a perfect view of the incident and was incensed by his players sending off.
The Celtic boss added: “For me it was a good tackle (from Ledley) it wasn’t even a foul. I don’t know what replays show, by all accounts other people have seen it, both have gone in with both feet so why Joe’s been sent off I don’t know because he’s come away with the ball.”
Lennon carries the can and responsibility for his mistakes in Celtic’s worst domestic performance of the season.
Who takes responsibility for Thomson’s showing is any-one’s guess.
Lennon will be asked to appear before the SFA to explain his ordering off which should make for interesting viewing.
Perhaps the SFA could welcome in their new era or accountability and transparency by screening the meeting live on their own website?
SFA launch email investigation at last
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