Ex-Celtic captain left unconscious after street row

FORMER Celtic captain Neil Lennon was subjected to an assault after getting into an argument with two men who apparently insulted his team’s performance, a court heard.

Lennon, 37, a coach at the Glasgow club, was punched to the ground and then repeatedly kicked as he lay unconscious, a witness told the High Court in Glasgow.

David Whitelaw, 47, and Jeffrey Carrigan, 43, deny carrying out the assault on September 1.

Liam Cameron, 24, a bar worker, told the court he believed the men addressed Mr Lennon first and that something was said about the football score.

“Neil Lennon’s reaction was the finger.”

The men also called Mr Lennon a “ginger c***”, Mr Cameron added.

“Mr Lennon said ‘What did you call me?’,” according to the bar worker.

Mr Lennon followed them round a corner during the incident.

Mr Cameron, who was outside went to see what was happening, said Lennon was hit and fell “on the cobbles when he went down” and that this left him “completely, completely unconscious”.

He added: “He was kicked in the head a few times, I am not sure exactly how many times, more than three.”

The bar worker said the attack came to an end when he intervened, pushing one of the men away from Mr Lennon as he lay passed out in the street.

The case continues.