Lennon facing SFA rap

Celtic captain Neil Lennon will hope the Scottish Football Association’s disciplinary committee will take his previous good conduct into account when they examine his behaviour at Ibrox on Saturday.

The former Northern Ireland midfielder will be hauled before the committee on September 20 following his clash with referee Stuart Dougal after the final whistle had blown on the 3-1 defeat to Rangers.

Lennon was red-carded for foul and abusive language after confronting the official as the teams walked off.

He then barged into assistant referee Jim Lyon before being restrained by team-mates Shaun Maloney and Paul Telfer.

The SFA could throw the book at him as they did when Hearts midfielder Saulius Mikoliunas was hit with an eight-match ban – reduced to six on appeal – for his push on assistant Andy Davis during a meeting with Rangers last season.

He is already facing a one-match suspension for the red card but the 34-year-old, whose only dismissal in five years with Celtic came in the CIS Insurance Cup final against Rangers in March 2003, must bank on his apology and his past disciplinary record to save him from a lengthier spell on the sidelines.

The SFA are expecting Dougal’s report to arrive at Hampden Park tomorrow but they understand it will contain details of the midfielder’s rant and subsequent attempts to confront the official.

“That report has not arrived but it will get here tomorrow,” said Drew Herbertson, the SFA’s head of referees and discipline.

“We can’t comment at all on potential action that will come of this. But we understand that the player will be reported for misconduct for his actions following his red card and that will be passed to the disciplinary committee and the player will be asked to attend.

“The next meeting will be on September 20 and what action will be taken is now a matter for them.”

A prominent Celtic supporters’ group insist they will give Lennon full support following the incident, despite admitting the 34-year-old was in the wrong.

Peter Rafferty, secretary of the Affiliation of Celtic Supporters Associations, told PA Sport: “The Celtic supporters are 100% behind our captain Neil.

“We can’t condone his actions and he is looking at a lengthy suspension.

“But as far as Neil is concerned, the bond between him and the Celtic fans is very strong and that won’t change.”

The 3-1 defeat to Rangers has caused more consternation for manager Gordon Strachan after a difficult start to his reign and he must plan for Sunday’s trip to Dunfermline without Lennon, Alan Thompson – who was also sent off – and the injured Chris Sutton.

“We know Lennon plays for the jersey wholeheartedly and he showed what it means to him,” added Rafferty.

“The Celtic fans appreciate what he gives to the team and understand that he takes a lot of stick from the Rangers fans so there was a great deal of frustration there on his part because of what happened during the game.”

Lennon was angry with Dougal’s decision to show Thompson a straight red card for a foul on Nacho Novo, although the tackle was described as “career-threatening” by Donald McVicar, head of referee development at the SFA.

It was a miserable Old Firm debut for Strachan but Rafferty said: “It’s happened now and we can’t change it but these things take a little bit of time and nothing can be done overnight and not after a few weeks.

“It takes a bit longer. We would all like to win every game because this is the team we support but the fans are still behind the manager and what he is trying to do.

“We have got the rest of the season to make sure we forget this result and we will turn it around. There is a long, long way to go and we have only played three league games so far.

“It’s not a disaster but we want to win every Old Firm game no matter what happens. Nevertheless, this is a new team and it takes time to bed those players in.

“It was also an eye-opener for Gordon Strachan to see how the game went.”