Lawyer tells Neil Lennon to defy SFA and sit in the dugout

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Published Date: 18 March 2011

By Angus Wright

NEIL Lennon's lawyer has urged the Celtic manager to defy the Scottish Football Association and enter the dug-out after he completes a five-match suspension, even if the game's governing body believes the ban is for eight games.

Lennon has been hit with two separate four-match bans, which the SFA has indicated should be served consecutively. But the SFA rulebook states that a punishment begins 14 days after the offence, leading Celtic to believe the bans can be served concurrently, with the second ban kicking in after Lennon had served one match of the first ban - taking the total number of games missed to five.

 

Lennon's lawyer, Paul McBride QC, last night said: "As a matter of law, there is no question in my mind, it is a four-match ban.

 

"I have looked at the SFA rules in some detail. There is provision for players to serve consecutive bans. There is no provision for managers or club officials to serve consecutive bans at all.

 

"The only dispute apparently in the minds of the SFA is whether it is consecutive or concurrent. Everyone who is sensible and who can read will see from the rules that ought to run from 16 March."

 

McBride expects Lennon to return to the touchline for the Scottish Cup semi-final with Aberdeen, which will take place on 16 or 17 April.

 

"He should enter the dugout and get on with the game," said McBride. "If the SFA believe it is an eight-match ban then the referee would go over and presumably attempt to send him to the stand. It may be, at that point, Celtic would consider their position about protective action in relation to their manager."

 

The SFA's chief executive Stewart Regan refused to comment on the situation, as legal advice is sought over the matter. But their position is understood to be that the punishments will run consecutively, with the four-match suspension Lennon received for his clash with Rangers assistant manager Ally McCoist following the ban for dismissal against Hearts in November, which he is now halfway through.

 

"I'm not able to talk about Neil Lennon or Celtic," Regan said. "We're in the middle of a live case and we're not able to get into it. There are legal implications on both sides."

 

In a separate development yesterday, Lennon was fined �£5,000 by the SFA for his criticism of match officials following his team's 2-0 SPL defeat against Hearts at Tynecastle last November.

 

The punishment, handed down by the SFA's general purposes committee at Hampden, is suspended until 30 June 2012 and will be set aside completely if Lennon does not commit a similar offence before then. Lennon branded the red card shown to Celtic midfielder Joe Ledley for a foul on Ian Black of Hearts as "scandalous" and also claimed referee Craig Thomson and his assistants "would probably have their story ready" when compiling their report into why he was sent from the technical area that night.

 

For that dismissal and a subsequent report of excessive misconduct from Thomson, dealt with by the SFA's disciplinary committee, Lennon received the six-match touchline ban which was reduced to four games by an independent appeals board.

 

Regan revealed yesterday that he has secured the backing of the SFA board to streamline and speed up the disciplinary process, with the aim being to implement change for the start of next season. He admitted he had identified failings in the SFA systems from his first day in the job in October and he is closing in on a major shake-up. He said: "The committee structure, whilst it has worked for many years, is very bureaucratic and laborious.

 

"We need to have much slicker, more transparent, more up-front system where all clubs, players and officials know exactly what's happening and how long it takes for things to be dealt with.

 

"I'm delighted to say that the board have backed the proposals and we will be taking them to the agm on 6 June."

 

Regan revealed that the plans included restructuring the board, incorporating a professional and non-professional board and a main strategic board, with responsibility for financial and other major decisions. He also revealed that disciplinary procedures would be streamlined, pointing out that five committees currently deal with certain disciplinary matters.

 

"We want to have one compliance or regulatory body which meets after each weekend's fixtures and tries to deal very promptly with what happens in those games.

 

"If the charges are accepted by those involved they are actioned before the next game, in which case everyone can move on and there is an understanding of the disciplinary process."

 

Regan hopes the proposed system will reduce the number of disputes such as the current disagreement with Celtic.

 

"Nobody likes to see fallouts," he said. "We are all in the game of football and we are all trying to do the best for fans, for clubs, for the media, sponsors, everyone associated with the game.

 

"It's disappointing when a lot of resources are being spent on fighting costly legal fees. It's a substantial amount of money.

 

"It is something that is taking money out of the SFA. A substantial part of the SFA's resources, which could otherwise be invested in developing football and performance, is being spent on something that is not benefiting the game specifically or the development of the game."

 

 

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