May 11, the darkest day of world football of last season when the Celtic football manager was physically attacked by a fan while standing in the dugout at Hearts Football Club while carrying out his professional duty, has cast its dark shadow on this transfer window finale.
For today the Hearts fan that the whole world saw attack the Celtic manager live on Sky TV has been cleared of assaulting Neil Lennon after an Edinburgh Sheriff Court jury found the case against him not proven. The attacker was found guilty of breach of the peace by running onto the pitch at Tynecastle and shouting and swearing at Mr Lennon, but the actual assault, along with the aggravated by religious prejudice element, has been thrown out.
Once again the world is being asked not to believe their own eyes when dealing with attacks on Neil Lennon and the wider Celtic Football Club. The justice system is telling us that the incident was a mere breach of the peace and that we should all go about our business as if it never happened.
This denial of the truth, this attack on human intelligence, this attack on the basic human rights of Neil Lennon and this attack on all right thinking and fair minded people is a much darker day for Scotland, for Scottish football and for world football than the original offence itself. It is a mockery of natural justice and renders ridiculous any notion of a fair and just society for all. This is, in essence, a football story but it echoes the kind of justice that was used by now thankfully extinct or near extinct eras such as the apartheid system in South Africa and the Unionist totalitarian state in Northern Ireland.
This is a football story but it bring shame to the Scottish judicial system, to Scottish society as a whole and to the administrators of Scottish football and especially to Neil Doncaster who had quickly sought to exonerate Hearts Football Club even when the attack happened in their stadium and was incontrovertibly committed by their support.
Today is a much darker day for Scottish football even than last Thursday when both Hearts and Rangers crashed ignominiously out of Europe before the end of August. As Celtic Football Club said in a statement tonight:
‘We find the accused's acquittal of the charge of assault difficult to comprehend bearing in mind our knowledge of the incident.’
‘One thing is clear - this was a disgraceful incident involving Neil Lennon, seen by the world - the sort of incident which should not have happened in any football stadium and one which embarrassed Scottish football.’
Both Hearts and Rangers are both tettering on the brink of financial disaster. Their football methods and the nefarious activities of their fans have brought Scottish football almost to its knees and in recent years has become the laughing stock of world football. Today that reputation has fallen even deeper into the darkness.
Celtic Football Club was born out of oppression and the dark aftermath of famine and political adversity. Neil Lennon, Celtic and the Celtic supporters will overcome days like these and grow stronger because of them. Celtic will still survive long after Hearts, Rangers and Scottish football itself have all long become extinct.
On days like these we become stronger.
@the_eriugena chief reporter on Celtic and the media for @SixtySevenLive
The lack of a conviction is the fault of the prosecutors who refused to drop the sectarian aggravation part of the assault charge. The defendant wanted to plead guilty to assault the day after the incident, but the prosecutor refused to drop the sectarian reference.
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