‘HYPOCRITICAL’ – ‘BAFFLED’ LENNY LASHES BACK

NEIL LENNON is “baffled” by Nicola Sturgeon dragging Celtic into the Ibrox Covid Five controversy.

The Celtic boss reckons the champions have been treated differently to others by the Scottish Government during the coronavirus pandemic lockdown crisis.

Lennon also questioned why Scotland’s First Minister mentioned his club when reacting to the news five of Steven Gerrard’s players had been caught by police at an illegal party on Sunday morning following their 1-0 win over Kilmarnock in Glasgow.

Sturgeon called for the whole of Scottish football to get “its house in order” and said: “I don’t care whether it’s Celtic, Rangers, or any other club, it’s not on, so please stop breaking the rules.”

Lennon insisted: “There just seemed to be a different tack to when she was speaking about us.

“The fact she brought us into the answer sort of baffled me, as well.

“I think we, as a club, have been treated differently from other clubs and other parts of society.

“I said all I needed to say after Dubai. I said it smacked of hypocrisy and I am not changing from that.”

The Hoops and Aberdeen had games postponed in August after harsh warnings from the Holyrood ruler following blundering Boli Bolingoli’s hush-hush trip to high-risk Spain and eight Dons players being caught in a city centre pub after their first league game of the season against the visitors from Govan.

Asked if it was odd that Celtic and Derek McInnes’ team had games wiped off the schedule while other offences have gone unpunished in a similar manner, Lennon, speaking to the Daily Record, answered: “Odd? Hypocritical. I could use a lot of words, but I’m not going to because I don’t want the story to be about me.

“I have come out and called it as I saw it. And people have thrown all sorts back at me.

“But my conscience was clear at the time and still is.

“And I don’t want to take the government on again, but you can tell there is a bit of discontent there.”