Fan cleared of assaulting Celtic boss
John Wilson, 26, was accused of a sectarian attack on the football boss as his side played Hearts FC in a Clydesdale Bank Premier League game at Tynecastle Stadium in Edinburgh.
A jury at Edinburgh Sheriff Court said the charge against Wilson, from the city, was not proven.
However, Wilson, a Hearts fan, was convicted of a breach of the peace on May 11 last year.
The court previously heard claims, denied by Wilson, that he had called Mr Lennon a “fenian bastard” at the SPL clash.
However, Wilson was cleared of making a sectarian remark during the incident after jurors deleted the allegation from the breach of the peace charge.
The jury of eight men and seven women took two-and-a-half hours to return their verdicts after a three-day trial. The decision came despite Wilson telling the court yesterday that he had lunged at Lennon and struck him on the head.
The events unfolded after Celtic went two goals up at the Hearts ground. The court heard previously there was a “poisonous” atmosphere in the stadium at that point, with supporters singing sectarian songs and shouting at each other.
Lifelong Hearts supporter Wilson, who said he was not involved in the singing, told how he became “angry” and started booing.
He then ran on to the field of play, and ran at the away team dugout, while shouting and swearing.
The jury found in doing so, he had caused “alarm and annoyance” to others and had added to the disturbance in the crowd.
It rejected the Crown allegation that it was a sectarian incident aggravated by religious prejudice. It acquitted him of a sectarian assault on Lennon after finding prosecutors had not proved their case on that charge.
Wilson, who told the court he has learning disabilities, insisted he had not made a sectarian remark during the incident but instead had said: “Lennon, ya fucking wanker.”
He said: “I regret every moment of it. I’ve let so many people down.”
Wilson, a labourer who was unemployed at the time, said he had let his children down, as well as himself, adding it was “not my normal behaviour”.
Asked if he understood how the Celtic boss must have felt during the incident, he replied: “It must have been awful for him. I can’t say how sorry I am to Mr Lennon.”
Celtic Football Club released a statement following the verdict: “We find the accused’s acquittal of the charge of assault difficult to comprehend bearing in mind our knowledge of the incident... Regardless of the verdict reached, we hope that people will learn from the events of last season and realise these cannot be repeated.
“As always we will give Neil Lennon our full support and hope that this season he can be given the opportunity to be allowed to do his job without the kind of threats, attacks and intimidation which have marred much of his time in Scotland.”
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