SCOTTISH REFEREES' STRIKE:CELTIC manager Neil Lennon, who faces a heavy punishment for his sending-off during the club's defeat by Hearts this month and the comments he made after it, has admitted his touchline behaviour may have been unacceptable "once or twice" this season.
His admission comes as the threat of a weekend strike by referees continues to hang over Scottish football. Lennon was also angered by the circumstances surrounding Dougie McDonald’s now notorious overturning of a penalty awarded to his side in October. McDonald admitted lying to Lennon about how he and assistant referee Steven Craven came to overturn the decision in the match against Dundee United.
“It’s a natural instinct and I think sometimes people go over the top about it and exaggerate my behaviour – they only show snippets of me arguing with officials every now and again,” Lennon said. “It would be folly for me to say I’m not doing anything wrong because there is a line you can’t cross and I may have crossed it once or twice.”
Lennon’s placating words are unlikely to be repeated by his chairman, John Reid. The former cabinet minister said last week the honesty and integrity of Scottish officials had been undermined by the McDonald affair, which is likely to have influenced this weekend’s withdrawal of labour.
The Scottish FA seemed no closer to resolving that issue last night with referees standing firm in their desire to strike. Referees had called during three hours of talks on Tuesday night for the SFA to write to all 42 senior clubs to seek confirmation their integrity would not be called into question.
Yet the SFA believes such a move would make little difference, nor would it halt the strike. Those discussions were continuing last night.
The SFA has set a deadline for midday today for a resolution before they turn elsewhere for replacement referees. However, it is not clear where those officials will come from after referees from Iceland, Norway and Wales indicated they would not be willing to step in. The Welsh FA confirmed that decision in a statement published on their website yesterday.
Guardian Service
