Neil Lennon hit out at Alan Muir after Celtic’s Scottish Cup win over Partick Thistle.
Two honest mistakes from the referee turned what should have been a comfortable 3-0 win into a 2-1 victory with the only consolation being that the second mistake came in the final minute of stoppage time as he awarded Thistle a penalty.
Late in the first half Muir and his assistant both refused to give Celtic a penalty when James Penrice pushed Jeremie Frimpong to the deck as the former Manchester City kid turned him in the penalty box and made to the goal-line.
Frimpong could hardly believe what he had witnessed, in stoppage time it was role reversal as Muir rushed to give Thistle a penalty.
? It finishes 2-1 to Celtic in this @ScottishCup tie
? There was time for a late consolation goal for @PartickThistle though!
? The referee penalised Frimpong for taking down Zanatta, and Bannigan made no mistake from the spot pic.twitter.com/nddFFExEYD
— Premier Sports ? (@PremierSportsTV) January 18, 2020
Covering his post-match interview with Premier Sports The Sun reports Lennon saying:
I’m very unhappy with the penalty because I don’t think it’s a penalty but I’m very satisfied with the performance.
He [Frimpong] is saying he got his body across the player and the ref was telling the staff he clipped his heels but it’s quite clear that he didn’t. We were all in agreement with that. However, it’s gone. Overall we played well and should have scored more goals.
? Neil Lennon’s side are in the draw for the next round, but the Celtic manager is still disappointed about the penalty against his team
? “The referee was telling my staff that he clipped his heels. But it’s quite clear that he didn’t and we were all in agreement on that.” pic.twitter.com/rDpkfOzDjG
— Premier Sports ? (@PremierSportsTV) January 18, 2020
The fifth round draw for the Scottish Cup takes place tomorrow evening with Celtic’s next match coming on Wednesday away to Kilmarnock in the SPFL.
