NAUGHTY BHOY

Lustig was not mocking Ferguson but taunting McInnes

MIKAEL LUSTIG last night denied Aberdeen’s claims he goaded teenager Lewis Ferguson in the aftermath of Celtic’s Betfred Cup final victory — insisting Derek McInnes was his target.

The Swede, together with skipper Scott Brown, stood accused of verbally targeting the teenage midfielder after Ryan Christie’s goal had been the difference between the sides at Hampden.

Dons skipper Graeme Shinnie claimed after the match that both Lustig and Brown had lacked class.

Defending his own actions, Lustig said: ‘I don’t think so. They said I went for the 19-yearold boy but I was screaming at (Aberdeen boss Derek) McInnes because we had a little bit of banter at a throw-in.

‘It was banter and it was aimed at their manager. We play football and there are a lot of emotions. Sometimes you

maybe are not happy about things after but, as I said, it is all down to emotions and I’m not going to run out there just to be a nice boy. If they feel a little bit sad about it then I apologise.’ Explaining the source of his running dialogue with the Aberdeen manager, Lustig continued: ‘When you play on the wing then you are in front of the manager. ‘Sometimes, it is banter and, sometimes, the emotions run over and that is just football. It is nothing more than that. ‘We talked for a few minutes on the pitch after the game but the conversation had started maybe 20 minutes before that.’ Lustig also insisted he had gone to congratulate match-winner Christie — not confront Ferguson — in the mistaken belief that referee Andrew Dallas had signalled the end of the match. The full-back said: ‘Yes, I thought it was the final whistle. ‘I went to Ryan because he had scored a really good goal. I think their players thought I went to the young boy and maybe that is where the misunderstanding was. ‘Then, there were still a few seconds to go.’ Lustig continued: ‘It was a final and there was a trophy to win. ‘We are never going to run out there and be best mates. For us at Celtic, it is all about winning. ‘If we have to win ugly then we have shown we can do it.’