Lennon fumes after Cup exit

16 April 2012 03:48

Celtic manager Neil Lennon hit out at referee Euan Thomas following his side's 2-1 defeat to Hearts in the Scottish Cup semi-final on Sunday.

Hearts scored a stoppage-time penalty through Craig Beattie as a result of Joe Ledley appearing to handle in the box just moments after Celtic scored a late equaliser.

Lennon took to the pitch following the match to berate Thomas for his decisions throughout the game, including denying Celtic a penalty for another handball incident.

Lennon later wrote on Twitter: "Referee told players he thought (Victor) Wanyama handled. I feel so sorry for players and fans. I think it's personal myself."

He also went on to retweet a fan who had written: "Pack our bags and get out of this league that is run by crooked £SFA officials."

Celtic assistant manager Alan Thomson also vented his frustrations at the end of the match but refused to blame the officials.

When asked whether Lennon confronted the officials, he said: "I think he has been in, yes, but I wasn't there so I don't know what was said."

"We are all angry. We have just lost the semi-final of the cup when there were 92 minutes on the clock, it is frustrating."