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Celtic midfielder`s future in doubt after sectarian attack
Glasgow, May 09: Celtic midfielder Neil Lennon has been attacked in Glasgow by a sectarian group of men, according to newspaper reports. And it could put the 31-year-old`s future with the Uefa Cup finalists in doubt.
Glasgow, May 09: Celtic midfielder Neil Lennon has been attacked in Glasgow by a sectarian group of men, according to newspaper reports. And it could put the 31-year-old's future with the Uefa Cup finalists in doubt.
Lennon - who quit the Northern Ireland national side after barracking and sectarian death threats - told the Sun he was attacked by three men when he stopped at traffic lights.
The attack happened in Glasgow's West End after the footballer - a Catholic - and an unnamed woman got into his car. As the car moved off, the men chased it before kicking it when it stopped at the lights.
When the Celtic star left the car to protest, he was struck and his female passenger knocked over, he told the newspaper. She was said to be shaken but unhurt while Lennon suffered slight injuries but did not need hospital treatment.
He told the Sun: "They were spitting all over my car and giving me a whole load of abuse. It was basically sectarian stuff. I'm not too badly hurt and I think the girl I was with is all right too."
A spokeswoman for Strathclyde Police said: "We can confirm that police inquiries are continuing following an assault on a 31-year-old man in Glasgow during the early hours of Thursday 8 May. The man sustained slight injuries but did not require medical treatment."
Celtic manager Martin O'Neill has been told of the incident. A Celtic Football Club spokeswoman said: "Neil Lennon and a female friend were victims of an assault by three men.
"Details have now been passed to Strathclyde Police, who are investigating the matter."
Lennon was in the news last year when he spoke of his anguish as he was forced to give up international football after getting a death threat. Loyalists said the warning that forced him to pull out of a game against Cyprus in Belfast was bogus, but the footballer still went ahead with retirement. His family in Lurgan, County Armagh, had also been threatened.
Bureau Report
Lennon - who quit the Northern Ireland national side after barracking and sectarian death threats - told the Sun he was attacked by three men when he stopped at traffic lights.
The attack happened in Glasgow's West End after the footballer - a Catholic - and an unnamed woman got into his car. As the car moved off, the men chased it before kicking it when it stopped at the lights.
When the Celtic star left the car to protest, he was struck and his female passenger knocked over, he told the newspaper. She was said to be shaken but unhurt while Lennon suffered slight injuries but did not need hospital treatment.
He told the Sun: "They were spitting all over my car and giving me a whole load of abuse. It was basically sectarian stuff. I'm not too badly hurt and I think the girl I was with is all right too."
A spokeswoman for Strathclyde Police said: "We can confirm that police inquiries are continuing following an assault on a 31-year-old man in Glasgow during the early hours of Thursday 8 May. The man sustained slight injuries but did not require medical treatment."
Celtic manager Martin O'Neill has been told of the incident. A Celtic Football Club spokeswoman said: "Neil Lennon and a female friend were victims of an assault by three men.
"Details have now been passed to Strathclyde Police, who are investigating the matter."
Lennon was in the news last year when he spoke of his anguish as he was forced to give up international football after getting a death threat. Loyalists said the warning that forced him to pull out of a game against Cyprus in Belfast was bogus, but the footballer still went ahead with retirement. His family in Lurgan, County Armagh, had also been threatened.
Bureau Report