Blogs

Lennon: Referee deprived me of doing my job

|
Image for Lennon: Referee deprived me of doing my job

Neil Lennon Celtic newsNeil Lennon has hit out at Calum Murray for sending him from the dug-out at half time.

The Celtic boss spoke to the referee at half time in the players tunnel before briefing his players in the away dressing room for the second period.

As Lennon made his way back to the dug-out Murray told him that he was banned forcing the hoops boss to watch the second half from the media room.

Explaining what happened at the break the hoops boss said: “I didn’t think it was a sending off (Cha’s red card), not sure that Wallace would ever get to the ball and we had cover. The contact is minimal, I was pretty upset by that decision and pretty upset by some other decisions that went on in the first half.

“I got a warning from the fourth official which was fine. I had, for me, a quiet word in the tunnel with the referee and thought nothing of it.

“I didn’t swear, I just put my point across and that was it. I came out of the dressing room after doing my speech at half time to the players and got called in and told that I’m not going out.

“He (Murray) has deprived me of doing my job in the second half.

“I wanted to see him after the game, I was told to wait 20 minutes then I can go and see him. After 20 minutes he said no ‘I don’t want to see you’. So I had to send some of my staff out.”

Discussing the confrontation with Murray in more detail the Celtic boss said: “I was just critical of his first half performance, I never used any abusive language. I’ve spoke to the delegate, they say one thing I’ve got witnesses that say another.

“I need some answers and I’m not getting them at the minute.

“I’m entitled as a manager to speak to a referee. Who are they accoutable to? Are they just allowed to waltz through game criticism free?

“I put my point across, I didn’t point my finger, I waited for him, I spoke quietly to him up the tunnel and that was the end of it.

“I think as a manager I’m entitled to do that. My players are very very angry, they are very disappointed as well but I think that there’s an anger there more than anything else.

CLICK HERE for referee Conroy finally admits to Lafferty mistake

CLICK HERE for Rangers give backing to ‘We Don’t Do Walking Away’

Follow Video Celts on TwitterFacebook and YouTube

Share this article

Online and independent- the only way to be. Enjoying instant news access and reaction, following the trends if not an influencer!

0 comments

  • mick says:

    very bad ref ,but i think everybody new what would happen ,time scottish football had a clearout ,second goal ofside why did ally hide up the tunnel to shake the celtic players hands ,why has nobody asked why dunfermline got paid and the rest havent.

  • What a shower of ***** ***** they couldn’t have written the script better they will be drinking in the lodges for free forever keep the faith troops

  • johnp says:

    Celtic were poor again today. Don’t know why Cha started surely Izzy would have been a better choice for left back. Can’t think of any Celtic outfield player who played well.

    We responded quite well after they scored and should have pushed on then. Why could no one make a challenge against Aluko? He was running riot in the first half.

    He is easy to deal with if challenged hard but fairly. Even if he has to be fouled do it 35 yards from goal and only gain a booking. Very disappointing. Rangers 2nd was offside but they desereved to win.

    This Celtic side need to get the league in the bag as quickly as possible then concentrate on getting the double. I think to get anything less from this season will be an anti-climax.

  • yogI says:

    Neil,you say the players are in the dressing room and are very angry, well its a shame they didn’t show any anger in their display on the ibrox turf.

    I took a lot of stick from fellow Celtic fans since the middle of last week for posting an opinion that I questioned the present players spirit to go to a cauldron like Ibrox, with the prize which was on offer,and I was correct , they caved in.

    Ledley, Ki, especially are needing a reality check. Jock Stein famous quote that the Celtic jersey does not shrink to fit the man,the man must fit the jersey is the mantra that should the first line on their contracts when signing.

    Talk is cheap and I for one are sick to the back teeth of reading what they are going to do and what they are not.when we nail down the league, get the young fellas from the u 19 team out there, at least we will see some heart.

    • Bonty says:

      yogl, I have to disagree with you there. Ledley was an option for every ball from defence, tirelessly ran himself ragged (look for the only player chasing the ball in the rangers half in the 20 mins before we scored). He may not have been as influential as a midfielder should but he was one of the best Celtic players on the park.

      Rogne and Mulgrew were p*ss poor in the first half and only marginally better in the second. Foster kept it somewhat “respectable”, Izzy thought he was in last years form but ran into players, Ki was lost, Wanyama was playing like “Elbows” normally does. Samaras, i just don’t understand the boy. Stokesy couldn’t do much on his own, can’t hold the ball with no support for too long. Broonie, not there for the 1st half, 2nd hr slowly got better and only in the last few minutes started attacking.

      Poor attitude, shocking passing, stupid tackling and the only show of heart occured in the final 5 or 6 mins. R*ngers were poor but we were worse, didn’t deserve it but then again neither did the other mob. Ball going into the R*anger corner with Samaras chasing Broadfoot, all he had to do was shadow him and leave him knock the ball out for a Celtic throw, stupid tackle, free kick R*angers, summed the day up really

  • plski says:

    Good 1st goal then predictable Ref performance at ibrox – 1st sending off was a joke Wallace was never in control of the ball and was trying to dive inside the box for a PEN up to then McGregor had kept them in it.

    Samaras was fouled time after time and the ref gave Rangers the advantage on every decision. – no wonder Lennon was annoyed.

    2nd sending off Wanyama clearly wins the ball with his studs on the ground – no contact with Whittaker although a bit silly to tackle the way he did – gave ref the opportunity to seal the result – had we been allowed to keep 11 men on the park – I doubt it as their bottle crashed when we scored 2 in the last few mins. – Ref also ended the game early.

    NOT AT OUR BEST BUT AGAIN REFS DECISIONS AT IBROX ARE THE MAIN TALKING POINTS

    • bhoylondon67 says:

      Stokes was 1 on 1 with the keeper and 3 yards onside when the linesman flagged for offside. How many times has that happened now against Rangers?

  • Donald says:

    that was a hatchet job.

    NO doubt the ref didn’t want to deal with the ramifications of celtic winnin the title in Ibrox, so he made sure.

    However Lennon needs to deal with the reality, this squad has mental lapses and chokes in the biggest occasions. Cup final last week, todays tepid performance, Inverness caley which decided the title last year, losing the cup final to rangers last year.

    He also needs to get stuck into his players, the first goal today and the goal in the cup final involved the entire team not making one challenge before the ball hit the net. Apparently the players were angry today, why didn’t they show any emotion?

    Lenny got it very wrong with his tactics and player decisions today.

  • bhoylondon67 says:

    What an embarrassment for Scottish football once again. Yet another tainted referee performance handing Rangers another tainted “victory”.

    The good thing to take from this is that this perception of entitlement Rangers are given by referees, the media and the SFA is the reason their club is up s%!t creek.

  • williebhoy says:

    Enough about poor officiating…..IF we had got our tactics right, the referee / assistants would not have mattered. Get it right OFF the park and we can then set about getting it right ON the park.

    We have been flat for some weeks, the league is our so why not add some freshness with a few young guns…they know no fear, chase every lost cause. Cut them loose and show teams what lies ahead.

    • bhoylondon67 says:

      We shouldn’t be the only team in Scotland that is not allowed a dip in form. We are not afforded the opportunity by referees to grind out results in close fought games or when we aren’t playing well. It’s hard enough when a team is playing well to get consistent results.

  • Jockyspants says:

    No creativity in midfield cost us, no tricky ball players who can beat a couple of bodies and open up space for the forwards, who were chasing the ball too much…Rankers needed this result so why did we not pass them off the field? Why defend so deep with McCuntloch nae knees up front??? Disappointed but perhaps a league celebration next week will help….if only we don’t lose three in a row!

  • Mac says:

    Neil, your team haven’t turned up for the last three games . Just like last year, when bottles crashed up in Inverness, we’re getting the same ineptness.

    I really hope we have a competent manager and CEO next season.

  • Michael says:

    Scott Brown, captain’s performance, Thomas Rogne very solid Samaras great performance despite being fouled all day and well played Izzi coming back. The big Fraser F looks better and better every game, well played Chris C, Victor no-one has commented yet that Whitaker came over the ball and his studs went through you as you challenged, you however did not go over the ball but it was a two footer.

    Both red card offences the silence on this point as ever has been deafening. Second goal a yard off, not suspiciously off, off side.

    First red joke, bad joke. Man of the match the ref, full marks achieved is obvious objectives, although panicked toward the end and instead of playing slightly more than the allcted 4 for additional time wasting cut the game short just in case. Overall quite tainted and embarrassing SFA shown up again for being institutionally bias.

    Unfortunately Scotland as a nation cannot remain parochial this match is being shown all over the world there’s so much more at stake. Time for Rangers to be reborn wipe he slate clean, an have some pride in our country putting on performances that can be seen as fair.

  • yogI says:

    We so badly need some leadership and graft and guile in our team. A Moravcik, Aitken, and another four with the heart of Johnny Doyle but the fact is we don’t , but these are the personnel we need to go to ibrox on days like today.

    The stands at Celtic Park are no fools and if we can see it , why cant the management?

    I know we will always be against the eight ball in this country, God knows I have had nearly fifty years of witnessing it, but let us not be blinded by emotion.lets face facts also.

  • ewanbhoy says:

    It’s true the ref was against us but we were our worst enemy. we bottled it today big time.

    Why we couldn’t put a tackle in or pass the ball beggars belive. our midfield were terrible especially ki, they didnt protect our defence and didnt create for our forwards.

    To lose in the manner we did against a Rangers team thats on its knees is unacceptable and i think lennon should stop blameing refs and look at his own mistakes in player choice and tactics. thats too many times now that on the big occasion we fail big time against weak opposition.

    The last 2 weeks shows the truth that we r far from being a top team which is sad because i think we have the players but the wrong management.

    I know Lennon is still learning and he is getting better but I don’t know if he will ever be that great as a manager.

    We should have destroyed the huns today and won the cup last week and lets not forget the same happened last season, not good enough and for me i would love to see an experianced manager in charge.

    Lennon has the passion but does he have the ability ??

    • yogI says:

      There is no doubt Neil has the passion, which is all the more puzzling when vast majority of his team dont.

      I want to see Celtic people running to the barricades to defend our club from obvious cheating to the downright lies spread about us from the fourth estate.

      I am proposing a few changes in policy that should be implemented at our club asap.

      We withdraw all media facilities to the outlets that keevins traynor,king and company represent and refuse them entry at Celtic Park and Lennoxtown.

      All exclusive news will be denied to them, keep them outside.

      Any representative from the BBC or similar bogus companys who claim to be impartial, same response.

      Above all lets confront the bigots and liars in court where we can really demonstrate we mean business and get a fair shake in this country.

  • Michael says:

    Neil is getting better and better, he knows what it’s about and is beginning to instill this understanding on his young team. The problem with the modern day Celtic players is they still don’t understand why they don’t get a level laying field, they still hope and expect they will, they lose heart and focus as a result of what some would describe as blatant cheating. These decisions are not new thay are as old and as long as your memory, the great jock stein had to endure disgraceful decisions but nullified them by preparing his team and pointing out the inadequacies of he officials before the match started. In the past these were much easier to cover up, whitewash turn attention from especially if you had the institution including all media in your back pocket. We need to use this as a weapon again uto toughen minds, to galvanise team spirit, win despite them, our team need this mental toughness now, very few in the current demonstrate this because they ar young and they simply don’t understand, they need taught they need to quickly learn if they are going to succeed as a great Celtic team.

  • bhoylondon67 says:

    Just seen the penalty decision again. Murray taking so long to make a decision on whether to send off the player showed him up for the cheat he is more than anything else.

    It was the most blatantly obvious red of the game, yet with the 2 Celtic reds he couldn’t get his card out quick enough. Then he has to mull over the Rangers red like it was a difficult decision!

    Made himself look stupid and exposed his position.

    • mick says:

      I think if this keeps coming about with refs take the team off the park force the SFA and SPL to clean up refs association once and for all.

      If this is not done ask UEFA to look into the bias in Scottish football with some refs or ban all players playing for Scotland til its sorted

  • Michael says:

    Whitaker over the ball/ Wanyama tackle look at this again dreadful decision

    Second goal -a yard offside

    Samaras not getting decisions despite being blatantly fouled

    Cha being sent off
    Didn’t play the additional time blatant panic

    Couldn’t face Neil after he match

    3 big decisions
    1 consistently bad
    1 blind panic

    All against Celtic, the biggest decision was taken yesterday as soon as Kilmarnock beat Motherwell -Celtic must not win at ibrox under any circumstances. The ref and the SFA did their job, he’s guaranteed more big games.

  • plski says:

    INDEPENDENT REFS IS THE ANSWER
    TO MANY SCOTTISH REFS FOSTER THEIR OWN AGENDA/CAREER – AT OUR EXPENSE – AND WE WILL HEAR FOR EVER MORE ABOUT THE 2 OVER THE LINE GOAL DECISIONS THAT WENT IN OUR FAVOUR THIS YEAR – BIG DEAL- TO MANY DECISIONS GO AGAINST US EVERY SEASON FOR AS LONG AS I CAN REMEMBER. ITS ONLY WHEN WE HAVE AN EXCEPTIONAL TEAM THAT WE CAN COPE THIS FORM OF CHEATING

  • Mark says:

    Asusual the big over reaction to a defeat, We played 20 mins of 1st half with 10 and last 35 with 9 men and the ref was a cheating bun with that senario what else where you expecting the result to be. We will never know what would have happened if it stayed 11 v 11. We have a decent team who have the bottle we went 26 games undefeated until last week so it must count for something. The guys slating the team will be the same guys jumping about next week if we win it so calm down at least we’re not huns. hail hail

    • yogI says:

      it is because were celtic people that we are angry and seriously pissed off with the performance which to many people was just not on.It doesnt make us any less of a celtic supporter from you mac,so if the critisism is merrited,then give them it.

Comments are closed.