Neil Lennon has taken a dig at Rangers manager Steven Gerrard following the fallout from the Old Firm clash last weekend.
Celtic won the game 2-1 but Rangers had two players sent off – Andy Halliday and Alfredo Morelos – and another, Ryan Kent, has been banned for two games retrospectively.
Steven Gerrard and Scott Brown were also charged on Thursday, with Gerrard accepting a one-game ban for comments he made to Bobby Madden after the game.
Meanwhile, Brown was charged with ‘not acting in the best interests of Association Football’.
Talking to the media ahead of the weekend game against Livingston (Sky Sports News, Friday, 1pm), Lennon defended Brown and took a swipe at Gerrard.
“Scott Brown doesn’t have to reproach himself for anything, obviously the club, the players will defend Scott vigorously on any charge as we feel he’s done nothing wrong.
“I think it’s a massive deflection, all the noise this week about Scott. I think our players behaved brilliantly and some of the opposition players did not.”
Asked about the accusation that Brown’s actions were not becoming of a Celtic captain, Lennon said, “That’s just the lamest of excuses to point the finger at Scott. It was a lawful celebration, he was over that area of the pitch and he celebrated with Celtic fans. I just think it’s trumped-up charge. It’s been made up.”
And Lennon ended by stoking the fire with Gerrard. “The only rational thing Steven has said this week from what I’ve seen is that his team played the best team in the country on Sunday. Apart from that I disagree with 90% of what he’s said this week.”
OPINION
The Old Firm clash rarely disappoints if you’re looking for drama, but the sad thing about Sunday’s game is that the unsavoury incidents have completely overshadowed what was an engrossing game. Lennon is always going to defend his player but it’s tough to look at Brown’s actions throughout the game on Sunday and say he wasn’t acting in an unsporting fashion. Is it okay to try and trip a player who you know has a short fuse? It’s definitely not football. Morelos shouldn’t have reacted, Kent shouldn’t have raised his hands and Halliday over-reacted. But Brown wasn’t as innocent as Lennon is trying to make out. And the dig at Gerrard is totally unnecessary. Lennon knows what he’s doing. He will have delighted the Celtic fans with his strong comments but it doesn’t do anything to defuse the situation and the next Old Firm clash is going to be very interesting indeed.