Neil Lennon labels decision to award Celtic a penalty in cup final disgraceful

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Celtic won the Scottish League Cup final, beating Scottish Premiership rivals Motherwell 2-0 at Hampden Park.

Neil Lennon has told BT Sport’s live post-match coverage of Celtic’s Scottish League Cup final clash with Motherwell (broadcast on 26th November 2017 from 14:00) that the decision to award the Hoops a penalty at Hampden Park was a disgrace.

The Bhoys continued their domestic dominance and won their fourth trophy under Brendan Rodgers – retaining the first that Rodgers won following his arrival at Parkhead last year – as they beat Well 2-0 in the final.

There was some controversy however, as Celtic doubled their lead from the penalty spot, with Motherwell’s Cedric Kipre bringing down Scott Sinclair inside the box, prompting the referee – who was jeered at full-time when collecting his medal – to send Kipre off and give Moussa Dembele the chance to put the game beyond doubt.

The decision is bound to divide opinion with Sinclair going over very easily indeed, but Kipre definitely makes a mistake letting the forward in and does make an attempt to grab Sinclair – though the amount of contact is minimal to say the least. And Lennon was in no doubt that Celtic were fortunate to be awarded a spot-kick

“I have to say the decision’s disgraceful. The penalty decision’s disgraceful. I don’t like to see that sort of thing. There’s minimal contact, the player goes down. And not only do they get the penalty against them, they get a red card as well,” he told BT Sport’s live post-match coverage of the Scottish League Cup final (broadcast on 26th November 2017 from 14:00).

Although there were bright moments for Motherwell in the game, it seems that the penalty decision had little impact on the overall result as Celtic were fairly comfortable – especially in the second-half. Nevertheless, Stephen Robinson’s men will still feel wronged by the decision.