Shame of our game
the same abuse at Rangers’ stadium. The Ibrox side have been hit with a second straight shut-down of 3000 seats in their stadium by UEFA under a charge of racist behaviour, which includes sectarian singing.
However Lennon reckons it will take more than that for their fans to comply, with the SFA and SPFL seemingly powerless to enforce those sanctions in domestic games.
Asked if he felt the events of the last week would make it a different environment for him at Ibrox this afternoon, the Hoops boss said: “No.”
And asked if he felt the fixture would still bring out the sectarian element, he insisted: “Yes. It’s always been that way, t’was ever thus and I can’t imagine that changing overnight, or over three or four days.
“It’s embarrassing that it needs an outside agency to come in and deal with it.
“Sometimes people turn a blind eye to it, they say, ‘It’s only him, he can deal with it’ – at the end of the day we’re human beings.
“Rangers put a statement out after Steve Clarke got the abuse – but there was none forthcoming for me over the years. I find that interesting as well.”
Scotland boss Clarke railed against the abuse he received last season while with Kilmarnock.
He said he didn’t mind being called a b*****d but drew the line at being called a Fenian b*****d.
And Lennon agreed: “Absolutely, because I take offence to the latter.
“I don’t know if this will embarrass anyone into dealing with it. I don’t have all the answers.
“You don’t want the game sanitised but you want to strike the balance between it being a red-hot atmosphere without all the vitriolic nonsense that goes with it.”