Neil Lennon admitted to feeling ‘uncomfortable’ with Brendan Rodgers’ personal post match attack on whistler John Beaton.
Rodgers was left furious after dropping three points at Tynecastle on Sunday and blamed the defeat on key decisions made by match ref Don Robertson and VAR Beaton. The Celtic manager twice referred to Beaton by name during a tetchy interview with broadcasters Sky in the immediate aftermath of the 2-0 defeat.
And former Parkhead boss Lennon believes Rodgers’ resentment towards the official is a long running legacy stretching back to his first stint in the hot seat – when Beaton needed police protection after taking charge of a heated Old Firm derby at Ibrox in January 2019. When asked about Rodgers calling out Beaton’s part in Sunday’s decision making process Lennon said: “I’m a little bit uncomfortable about that but it’s not for me to say. That’s for other people to maybe take him to one side and have a word with him on it.
“Obviously there’s a history between Brendan and John from one of the games at Ibrox a few years ago and obviously he’s emotional after the game. But again, it’s Don’s decision, ultimately. John’s just told him to come and have a look at the incident.”
Rodgers appeared to point a finger of blame at Beaton for asking Robertson to review footage of flashpoint between Celtic winger Hyun-jun Yang and Hearts full-back Alex Cochrane. Yang had been booked for raising a high boot but that yellow card was upgraded to a straight red after Robertson had been called to the pitch side monitor.
And Rodgers was even angrier when Hearts were awarded with a penalty late in the first half for a hand-ball incident which Beaton had spotted on the screen at Clydesdale House. Celtic lodged an appeal to overturn Yang’s dismissal while also revealing they have written to the SFA to ‘raise our serious concerns regarding the use of VAR and the decisions made within the match.
For their part, the SFA could yet carpet Rodgers for his blast at Beaton. Lennon continued: “I understand why Brendan was angry. Listen, people in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones and I’m the last person to be criticising anyone for comments after a game.
“So he’s upset and annoyed because it had a huge bearing on a very important game, psychologically as well going forward. But the bottom line is there’s no damage done, all it does is give the opposition a bit of encouragement.”
Lennon, meanwhile, urged Celtic to refocus on defending their title after Sunday’s slip up left their Ibrox rivals two points clear at the top of the table. He said: “From Celtic’s point of view, they’ve got to double down, take the VAR element out of it and play well enough that we’re not talking about referees at the end of the game.
“I understand again where Brendan was coming from after the Motherwell game, when he said they have to write their own story. If people are writing them off that’s a good thing for me. You use that as a fuel, you use that as a motivation.
“There are nine games to go, there’s two Celtic v Rangers games to come which will be pivotal. But they’ve got to find more consistency in their performances. In the first half at Motherwell they were very flat but played well in the second half.
“They dismantled Dundee and showed their power in midweek then on Sunday I felt it was a bit flat again. But you’ve got to give Hearts a huge amount of credit because they’re having a cracking season.”
Olivia Martin is a dedicated sports journalist based in the UK. With a passion for various athletic disciplines, she covers everything from major league championships to local sports events, delivering up-to-the-minute updates and in-depth analysis.
