Neil Lennon etc .

What was the atmosphere like in the ground Kriskin , before and after the attack incident ?

sickening people,think the dutch problem was very different to the scottish disease tbh

I think Sky have to take some responsibility. I was sat in today and had Sky Sports on, they were ramping this up every hour. Going live to a reporter at Tynecastle from midday onwards, interviewing Hearts fans about Lennon's comments, and reporter was repeatedly saying "whooh, the Hearts fans will be really up for it tonight" and "there is a lot of rivalry between the teams", etc. I know those "quotes" don't sound unusual, but it is hard to put across in words. Suffice to say it made a big impression on me before the game.

I`m with reve and Rf. It`s hard to sympathize after his idiotic gesture following the last Old Firm game. Put your head down and show you`re better than that ffs.

Some people on here need to get off their high horses.

Why footy banter is a game of give and take
By Tam Cowan on Apr 27, 11 06:33 AM in

CHOP his hands off. Yeah, that's it. Treat him like a Saudi Arabian shoplifter and cut his hands off now.

Surely that's the only sensible punishment for Neil Lennon after the Celtic boss committed the utterly heinous crime of cupping his ears? This all sounds like some sort of ridiculous wind-up. But, no, some people really are frothing at the mouth and complaining in the most bitter fashion about Lennon's gesture at the end of Sunday's Old Firm match.

Can you believe these muppets? For the entire afternoon - and throughout every previous visit to the stadium - the Celtic gaffer endured foul-mouthed abuse from three corners of Ibrox with "Neil Lennon you're a w****r" one of the kinder chants.

And what happens when he (gasp!) holds his paws behind his lugholes? That's right - they all run to the cops and demand he's hung, drawn and quartered.

Utterly pathetic, isn't it? Where have they been the last hellish couple of weeks? Death threats? Deal with it, Lenny. Twentyfour hour police protection? So what? Letter bombs in the post? Dry your eyes, wee man. We've all had junk mail.

But cupping your ears in front of 40,000 Rangers fans who've been giving you dog's abuse all afternoon? Oh yes, that's really criminal. Slap the cuffs on, officer.

At this point, I'm probably meant to jump on the bandwagon and give it all that mealy-mouthed claptrap about how Lennon should have stayed off the park and quietly disappeared up the tunnel for a post-match bottle of beer with his old sparring partner Ally McCoist.

But I'd sooner have a pop at the two-faced hypocrites in the crowd who can dish out the vile abuse but clearly can't handle a bit of harmless banter in return.

Mind you, what do you expect? All football fans are exactly the same.

Players and managers get it in the neck at every ground in Scotland week after week and some of the language would make Roy Chubby Brown blush.

But what happens when the same players and managers rise to the bait and shout or gesture back to the crowd? Yep, the big brave loudmouths in Row D run like wee lassies to the nearest steward and demand a full police inquiry.

I've seen it umpteen times at Fir Park. And, if I'm being totally honest, I've been every bit as guilty as the Rangers fans on Sunday. But at least I was a daft young laddie at the time.

About 30 years ago, after being subjected to constant X-rated chants from Motherwell fans, the late great Davie Cooper (who later became a Fir Park legend, of course, which backs up my point about supporters being totally two-faced) scored a goal for Rangers and celebrated by giving his claret and amber critics a fly V-sign.

All hell broke loose and, after the final whistle, a posse of Well fans (myself included) marched to the local cop shop to file a formal complaint.

Chuck in a few burning torches and pitchforks and we'd have looked like the villagers from an old Frankenstein movie.

Thinking back now, it makes me cringe. And three days after that carry-on at Ibrox, I hope the Rangers fans feel the same.

As Lennon pointed out - and it's an important point considering what he's had to endure over the past few weeks - it was a bit of humour.

Exactly. Remember how we used to pride ourselves on having a laugh and a joke in this country? On that note, I'll finish with a confession. While hosting a wee charity cabaret show in a Hamilton pub on Easter Monday, a punter asked if we could open a few windows and said: "Come on, Tam. I'm sweating like Neil Lennon's postman."

That was also a bit of humour. And I bet the Celtic boss would have enjoyed a wee chuckle himself. But should I now have my tongue cut out because I laughed?

Where did Ferguson and Guardiola get the same level of abuse Lennon got?.

Lennon must take a little responsibility for all this. His gestures to the Rankgers fans after the title losing 0-0 draw were idiotic.

Parcel bombs and fan assaults are beyond the pale though.

Pep Guardiola was getting dogs in the semi final of the champs league Gant. Fergie everytime he goes to Anfield they get dogs abuse from opposing fans and usually more than the 40k Rangers fans.

He's the manager of Celtic football club as Giant says he should show he's better than that, when was the last time you saw Alex Ferguson or Pep Guardiola do that? If he had walked off the pitch that day i think he would have won a lot of friends and taken the high moral ground instead he is what he is a tramp.

No they will always hate him, no matter what he did. I've seen Mourinho do that on numerous occasions but I did not see him get nail bombs sent to his house.

Ferguson and Guardiola both had matches recently where they were getting dogs abuse. Lennon has once again let himself down and shown he has zero class.

They have not received threats to their personal safety, as said before this transcends football and their is no comparison.

Tony he resons to the abuse with a harmless gesture and sticks up for himself and reacts and is the product of that abuse his entire life yet it is his fault ?

P.S  I hope you can at least see the irony when you state
"Easy to blame Scottish football when the island of Ireland has invaded and brought with it all the hatred that has festered over the last 40 years or so".

zipifried not sure what you were saying earlier. I agree that Lennon must take some reposnsibility.

I have read a lot of that Tony and i understand why people are saying it but i honestly believe people have no understanding of his situation and cards he was dealt in life as a Northern Irishman of the Celtic persuasian. He has every right to respond to constant abuse and stand his ground, give as good as he gets but when he does look what happens, the racism of Northern Irishmen has built up through the media for many years and it is evident all over Britain and southern Ireland. Lennon is a microcosm of it.

Tony, I have followed Celtic since the eighties after reading a book on their history.  As you are prob aware, the club was founded by an Irishman to support Irish immigrants in Glasgown in the late 19th century. It has maintained strong irish links throughout its history, through its players, supporters and more lately managers. The Tricolour still flies over Celtic Park - not as a republican gesture (Most Scots dont give a rats about the Irish situation), but as a relection of the clubs roots. The relationship between Celtic and Ireland is everlasting - (not like the fleeting relationships with Liverpool and Manu and the next genertion who will prob support Chelsea and ManC).  I also support my local GAA club, mu local soccer club, my local rugby club, but it is with Celtic that I get to support a club with strong Irish links across Europe etc.
The Celtic support are by and large a decent bunch and it is galling to be labelled with the other crowd as 'The Old Firm'. It lends itself easily to the lazy conclusion that they are both the same.  Well they are not both the same! Take a recent simple comparison - Celtic qualify for the EUFA cup final and take approx 130,000 fans to Seville.  They win a EUFA Fans award for 2003 for their fans behaviour across Europe. Rangers qualify for a EUFA cup final in 2008 and wreck the centre of Manchester. They receive fines from EUFA for the secterian singing of their fans in European cities.  I could go on....

Tony the cupping of the ears is harmless banter ,he didn't kill anybody ffs, he is a product of his society and his will to take no abuse because of his identity or Ginger hair.

Celtic supporters generally stay with the team thru the good days and the bad days Tony, not just when Charlie is playing or when the standard is to your liking.  Celtics hands largely tied these days competing with the likes of Wigan and Blackburn for transfer targets. Unfortunately the EPL clubs have massive funds coming from Sky. Hard for Celtic to compete with that, but glad to see the majority of supporters worldwide sticking with them.

Nobody answered my question, I'm just a little curious to know?, because no other Celtic manager has ever been the subject to such burning hate like Lennon has.

Has Lennon got republican connections that has fueled the hatred?

Another eager to say pitch invader wa wrong but Lennon deserved it for harmless gestures and giving out what he takes, doesn't add up.

Same as that Tony i used to be a bit of a follower from afar of Celtic, event went to a few games but the hatred and the religious stuff turned me off it. I am sure for everyone like myself and Baloney there is more who likes a rivalry built on religion, not on sport, no matter how much Celtic fans want to disagree with me.