PERTH, Australia (AFP) ? Celtic manager Neil Lennon has shrugged off a light plane stunt by rival Rangers fans before their Australian pre-season game in Perth.
A group of local Rangers fans tried to goad their bitter rivals Celtic by organising a plane to fly over the stadium before kick-off trailing a banner boasting about Rangers' three consecutive Scottish League titles.
Celtic beat A-League side Perth Glory 2-0 and after the match Lennon took the Rangers stunt with a shrug of the shoulders.
"Well, you'd think they'd have better things to do following their team in Germany (for their pre-season tour) than pay a lot of money to annoy us," Lennon told reporters on Saturday.
"I think they're a wee bit obsessed with us at the minute."
Lennon also had no qualms about an incident that left Celtic's Israeli midfielder Beram Kayal nursing a broken nose during the Perth game.
Kayal slumped to the turf and had blood gushing out of his nose after taking a swinging elbow from Glory midfielder Adam Hughes as the pair competed for a header midway through the first half.
The Israeli was clearly frustrated as he came off the ground, kicking away a sound-effects microphone as he made his way to the changing room to receive further treatment.
"I don't think it was over-physical," Lennon said. "I think (it was) very reminiscent of a game back home really.
"But I was expecting that anyway. For the lads, they want to make a name for themselves and compete against our players.
"We've got no complaints about that, it's just one of those unfortunate things."
Kayal looks likely to miss Wednesday's final Australian friendly against Melbourne Victory in Melbourne.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.