Brendan Rodgers rightly backs Neil Lennon, who is both right and wrong – Confused? You will be...

For those outside Scottish football, the attacks that Neil Lennon endured have been so unfathomable as to make it pointless to try to explain.

I once tried to illustrate this to an English fan – not just the sectarian abuse that, in my experience, usually leads fans south of the border to mutter about everyone being “as bad as each other” – but about the death threats, the real bombs sent to him, the Hearts eejit who assaulted him, admitted it and still got off the hook, despite having sent a letter of apology.

I say this because I do not believe that Neil brought any of this on himself and I would like to address that before going on to comment on his behaviour at the weekend.

As with any top football manager, Neil is in a high-pressure job in which the competence or otherwise of decision-making – entirely outwith your control – can be the difference between winning trophies or losing your job.

So, it’s difficult to criticise Neil when he is exasperated with the standard of refereeing in Scotland, which would disgrace any professional league or association.

He was incensed at referee Kevin Clancy’s decision to award a penalty against Ryan Porteous and sometimes it’s refreshing to hear a manager call a spade a spade – or, thanks to Google Translate, a Scottish referee an amateur.

When Neil let’s rip, he really doesn’t hold back. Speaking about Clancy and Scottish refereeing in general, he said:

“It's hit Ryan here [on the chest]. The ball is going a mile wide as well. We've seen it again and he can't see it from the angle he's at. This is the same referee who didn't given us a clear handball against Rangers at Easter Road.

“As for me being sent off without really being over-critical of the decision at the time, he's made it personal because I criticised him after the Easter Road game. I am not happy with him at all.

“To send me off, I'm far from happy. And then I can't do my job for the last half hour. Why can't we send referees off when they are so blatantly ruining the game?

“I don't want him refereeing us again this season. But I probably won't get my way on that.

“Huge decisions have gone against us this season. I'm at my wit's end with referees at the minute. You ring John Fleming on a Monday and you get the same ‘Yeah, yeah...’,”

“You go round in circles and I've lost a lot of faith in it, to tell you the truth. That's why I've not really got on the wrong side of the law this season. It's amateur. Mickey Mouse stuff.”

Most of Neil’s comments will find a sympathetic audience with Hibs and Celtic fans. The best that can be said of Scottish refereeing is that it is abysmal. The worst is that it is corrupt and it would take a truly objective – or at least distanced – eye to try to discern between the two.

So, when Brendan Rodgers offers words of support, we can take it that he is not just backing his fellow Ulsterman but is similarly concerned by the standard of officiating.

As Brendan said: “I have seen a lot of strange decisions. The guys are doing the very best they can, but some of it I can totally understand where Neil would come from.

“It was something that is in the heat of the moment. He has obviously seen something clearly and for Neil it has probably been tagged on to one or two other incidents that has cost his team.”

Both Brendan and Neil are right about the decisions (which we are not allowed to attribute to bias in any form, lest we be decried as social media cranks by print and broadcast media cranks).

But, while many Celtic fans are jumping on Brendan’s comments as endorsing Neil’s criticism, the Celtic boss is, as ever far more measured.

Brendan has far too much nous, experience and training to go down the route of claiming bias and he would be unlikely to attach his name to such comments.

He may truly believe that the officials are “doing the best they can” (and most probably are) but making enemies of the same people who Neil chooses to go to war with is neither pragmatic nor Brendan’s style.

Neil Lennon has had few defenders during his time in Scotland and he will surely appreciate the most respected manager in the land extending public sympathy for his frustration with referees.

But that should not be interpreted as supporting everything Neil says.

The previous villain was Stuart Dougal, who did seem extremely ill-disposed towards him, and most Celtic fans took Neil’s side.

Is Clancy a bad referee – oh, yes! Does he have a festering grudge against Neil Lennon – probably not.

But while Celtic and Hibs fans back the warrior from our tribe, something else has been almost lost.

However, badly Kevin Clancy may have refereed, Neil Lennon’s aggression towards him should not be endorsed in any way.

This was not a player on the field reacting to a vicious challenge but a manager of a club with a great history, seething venom into the face of a match official.

Many will have enjoyed that, but this blogger did not.

Some people learn to nurture aggression as a “stay-away” defence. That can be because of internal fears or, for example, traumatic experiences.

But there should be a reasonable expectation that people can go about their professional business without facing physical intimidation.

Neil’s combative qualities largely served him and Celtic well on the football field, where there was never a shortage of hostile opponents more than willing to inflict pain and damage, given a hint of weakness.

But the role of manager requires more measured judgement and controlled behaviour than Neil demonstrated at the weekend.

Make your point, Neil. Fight your corner. Focus a spotlight on issues that demand debate.

But don’t do it nose-to-nose with a man who, however flawed, has never presented physical aggression to you and deserves to do his job in a safe atmosphere.

Otherwise, you will stand accused of trying to intimidate people in a manner that would not be tolerated in any normal working environment.

And you may find that the kind words of sympathisers like Brendan Rodgers become thinner on the ground.

Oh, and another thing – settle in at Hibernian. You will never be Celtic manager again.
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