August 3 – Hibernian manager Neil Lennon has been slapped with a five-match European touchline ban by UEFA after he was sent to the stands in the club’s recent Europa League loss to Brondby.
Lennon was dismissed when he remonstrated with referee Juan Martinez Munuera after he disallowed a Hibs goal when TV replays showed the strike had been legal.
His protests were ruled by UEFA to have been “acts of violence against the referee” but the club are vehemently disputing the ruling and are in the process of appealing.
Lennon himself has described his dismissal on July 14 as “pathetic”.
Hibs lost the first leg 1-0 but levelled the tie away from home before Brondby won through on spot-kicks.
“I remonstrated with the linesman and was sent off for no reason whatsoever,” he was quoted as saying. “I didn’t think the referee had a good game, which is what I expected after looking at his record before the game. I want to appeal it because it’s just a piece of nonsense. It looked to me like he (Munuera) wanted to be the star of the show rather than the players.’’
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