Lennon appeal rejected
Wednesday, February 11, 2004
Article summary
Celtic FC's Neil Lennon must serve a two-match ban for his conduct after the defeat at Olympique Lyonnais.
Article body
UEFA has rejected an appeal by Celtic FC's Northern Irish midfield player Neil Lennon against a two-match suspension imposed in December for his conduct towards Swiss referee Urs Meier at the end of the UEFA Champions League match against Olympique Lyonnais on 10 December.
Verdict stands
UEFA announced on Tuesday that the original verdict, handed down by the UEFA Control and Disciplinary Body on 16 December, would stand. Lennon will now miss both legs of Celtic's UEFA Cup third-round tie against Czech side FK Teplice.
Final whistle
Lennon was charged with improper conduct towards the referee, both verbally and with gestures, after the final whistle of the match, which Lyon won 3-2 to progress to the Champions League first knockout round. Celtic's defeat meant the Scottish club had to be content with a UEFA Cup place.
Aggravating circumstance
UEFA said that Lennon's caution in the 20th minute of the match had been an aggravating circumstance, which had led to the rejection of the appeal. The hearing in December had been told that referee Meier did not take action and show a red card to Lennon for the incident after the final whistle, but mentioned it in his report.