PARIS SAINT-GERMAIN superstars Neymar and Edinson Cavani squabbled over a penalty-kick at the weekend, as CQN reported yesterday.
Celtic’s Champions League conquerors beat Lyon 2-0, but not after a bizarre incident between two of their key players.
It evoked memories of a similar embarrassing incident concerning two Hoops teenagers, Shaun Maloney and Simon Lynch, in a league encounter against Hearts at Tynecastle in April 2002.
On that occasion, Parkhead boss Martin O’Neill admitted: “I just kept well out of it!”
Maloney and Lynch, both 19, had each scored twice in a 4-1 win when they were awarded a spot-kick in the last minute.
The Bhoys bench signalled for Lynch, son of former left-back Andy, to take the penalty which would have given him his first hat trick for the club.
Maloney, the club’s new development squad coach, had already netted a trio in that campaign, but was having none of it. He ignored calls from assistant boss John Robertson to hand the ball to his rookie partner.
Lynch tried to get the ball off him then walked away when it was obvious Maloney had no intention of relinquishing the responsibility. He then smacked the ball against a post.
O’Neill said with a smile: “Tommy Boyd should have taken control of the incident as captain, but never did.
“Some of the backroom staff wanted Simon to take it because Shaun had scored a hat-trick already but I just kept well out of it.”
Lynch said afterwards: “He got the ball before me and I couldn’t wrestle it off him. We are still good friends.”
More recently Leigh Griffiths and Stefan Johansen had a similar dispute in a European qualifier at Celtic Park in the early days of Ronny Deila’s time as Celtic boss.
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