Neil Lennon has issued an angry rant against referee Duncan Nicolson following Dunfermline’s 3-2 defeat at Ross County.
The result leaves the Pars in sixth place in the Championship with 15 points from 12 matches.
TOILING
With one third of the season completed Dunfermline are 12 points behind leaders St Johnstone and eight ahead of bottom placed Airdrie United.
Automatic promotion looks out of sight with a play off place and that long winded route the target for the season.
When he was first in management at Celtic more than a decade ago Lennon had various flashpoints with match officials. Once he had to watch the closing stage of a Glasgow Derby from the media room with the Main Staff obviously out of bounds.
As a pundit he does come across relaxed and knowledgeable but it seems that on the touchline he struggles to keep his emotions in check.
Listening to Radio Scotland, The Sun reports Lennon saying:
I haven’t been this angry with the officials for a long, long time.
And even at the end I’ve had to go into his office and speak about the way the assistant linesman made disparaging comments to one of my coaching staff.
If this is the level we are getting to we are in trouble.
Lennon added:
There is a clear foul on Abdulai for the first goal and the free kick Ross County got for the third goal is a clear tackle.
Declan Gallagher has forearmed smash Matty Todd in the face and the referee can’t see that.
It’s an abomination of a performance. I’ve got a young team who are trying to play football the right way.
They need to understand the rules of the game because we are not getting taught them by the referees that’s for sure.
Lennon told the Dunfermline website:
When you get refereeing decisions as bad as that, consistently, and to be honest with you, I don’t think Tony [Docherty] was happy either with his performance. We’ve got a serious problem. Well, not serious. I don’t like blaming referees, I really don’t. But today, that guy was well off it and it cost us the game, it cost us two goals.
There’s no way that’s a free kick for Ross County. Yeah, alright, we could have dealt with it better, but it should never have got to that. Because 30 seconds earlier, Matty Todd gets a forearm smash in the face. So where’s the fairness for us? Where’s the fairness for my club, my team? And like I say, I don’t like bellowing on about referees, but I’m apoplectic with this guy. Honestly, I’ve had enough.
Lennon added:
I can write a list now of big decisions costing us. We could have far more points on the board but for incompetence, if you want to call it that. It’s not biased, it’s incompetence.
Dunfermline lost goals in the second and third minutes.
POST CELTIC RECORD
In February 2021 a defeat at Ross County brought to an end Lennon’s second spell as manager of Celtic.
Next up for Dunfermline is a trip to Ayr United on Friday, the following weekend they are at home to leaders St Johnstone.
Lennon was appointed as Dunfermline managed on 21 March. In 23 matches in charge he has a record of 9 wins, 5 draws and 9 defeats. A record of 1.39 points per game.
Since leaving Celtic he has managed Omonia Nicosia for 29 matches and Rapid Bucharest for six.
Don’t worry Lennie, when you get sacked, your mate Lawwell will be trying hard for you when Brendan leaves. Celtic seem to be the only club you are good enough for.
Why does it always take for it to actually cost a manager points before they blow a gasket?
If they all just stuck together whether winning or losing and called out the standard of refs, maybe everyone would be getting a better deal.
Wouldn’t surprise me either if NL is suffering from his legacy as a Celtic player & manager, cos there certainly will be biased bigoted refs out there still holding grudges.
All in the bestest wee country in the world.
Guaranteed.
Stick-on,
Odds on
Certainty
The time to slag match officials is when they’ve cocked up and you’ve actually won…
Anything else sounds like soor ploombs !