 Neil Lennon looks to be on a another collision course with the SFA after criticising decisions made by referee Craig Thomson in the 2-0 defeat at Tynecastle. He was sent to the stand after making his views known to the fourth official when Thomson ignored a penalty claim when Hearts' substitute Ryan Stevenson looked like he might have used an arm in the box. This was the final straw for Lennon who was already enraged at the red card handed to midfielder Joe Ledley for a challenge on Ian Black, who had opened the scoring with a deflected drive in the first half, when David Templeton made it 2-0. The incident is sure to spark more controversy following the Irishman's recent spat with the SFA. The Celtic manager said: "I don't know why I was sent off. Alan Thompson and Johan Mjallby had a pop as well. By the time the fourth official called the referee over I had long finished. There was no talk between me and the referee so obviously it's the fourth official's decision to send me to the stand and I'm not happy about it at all. It was a clear penalty. I can see that 45 yards away. It was a clear penalty and if Craig doesn't see it, why doesn't his assistant see it? So again we are talking about referees after the game. I will think about appealing. I want a clarification on mine...and we will have a look at it." Asked if he would be writing again to the SFA, as he did after the McDonald penalty incident at Tannadice and after Willie Collum gave Rangers a penalty in their recent win at Parkhead, he replied: "I don't know. Probably." Lennon was equally scathing of Thomson's decision to send off Ledley. He said: "It was a ridiculous decision. I was two or three yards away from it, it was a good tackle. The referee is going to say he went in with two feet but if that is the case Black was also going in with two feet. Joe came out with the ball. It is a ridiculous decision. It changed the game. It was a struggle with 10 men." Celtic captain Shaun Maloney hopes that referees are not the focus of attention for the rest of the season. He said: "At the time I thought it was a penalty but I haven't seen any replays. If the referee makes a wrong decision the players and manager will be asked about it and all we can do is give an honest answer. But I can't imagine the referee debate will stop all of a sudden. We have been on the wrong end of a couple of decisions, high-profile ones. Hopefully, over the course of the season, we are not talking about referees' decisions after each match." |