Celtic hero Neil Lennon reveals Walter Smith's ‘amazing' reaction to THAT infamous spat with Rangers legend Ally McCoist
Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window)
Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
IT will forever be remembered as one of the most bitter exchanges in Old Firm history.
Celtic legend Neil Lennon has opened up on what really happened between himself and Ally McCoist during the infamous touchline spat in 2011.
3
Ally McCoist and Neil Lennon squaring up on the touchline
Credit: News Group Newspapers Ltd
3
Things got very heated at full-time
Credit: Reuters
The famous Scottish Cup meeting at Celtic Park resulted in three red cards, 13 yellow cards and 34 fans arrested.
It was the Hoops who came out on top courtesy of Mark Wilson's first and only Old Firm goal, but it wasn't just the action on the pitch that caught everyone's attention.
It's widely remembered as the time the Celtic and Rangers legend went head-to-head in an angry exchange at full-time.
The pair previously joked that it was Scott Brown who sparked the heated affair for noising up El Hadji Diouf.
But now the two-time Celtic boss has pinned all the blame on the Senegal forward.
Speaking on the Open Goal podcast, he said: "El Hadji Diouf started it all.
"Emilio Izaguirre got injured after Steven Whittacker caught him in a foul, got a second yellow and was sent off.
"Diouf came over to get instructions when Tim Williamson was running on to treat Emilio.
"Diouf gives him one of them (motions an elbow).
"I clocked it and said 'you f*****g leave my staff alone'.
Incredible moment Celtic legend Neil Lennon was strangled by boss Martin O'Neill
"Coisty then came on to say 'don't talk to my players'.
"So, that was the start of it really, then it got really spicy in the game."
On the incident with McCoist itself, Lennon continued: "I shook hands with Walter, then he goes.
"Coisty said 'don't speak to my players like that,' and I f*****g snapped.
"The normal thing to do is to shake hands and leave it, but I said 'is that right?'"
3
Neil Lennon with Walter Smith in 2010
Credit: PA:Press Association
Lennon went on to reveal that Walter Smith let rip at not only himself, but McCoist as well, during a post-match meet-up in the Celtic manager's office.
On Smith's reaction, Lennon said: "He was amazing.
"He gave us both a bollocking afterwards in my office - he told us to behave ourselves!
"He was brilliant. I loved him.
"I had a lot of respect for him, he was a brilliant manager. Really, really smart."
Keep up to date with ALL the latest news and transfers at the Scottish Sun football page
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
BBC News
31 minutes ago
- BBC News
'What's not to get excited about?' - your views on 'real deal' Nygren
We asked you for your views after Benjamin Nygren signed a five-year deal with what some of you said:Gordy: A good signing and hopefully just the start - we need cover all over the pitch. Centre back, right and left-back cover is essential and a goal-scoring centre forward, while holding onto to what we have, unless a massive offer comes in that will help buy other players. We need to show more ambition in the transfer market this season to be successful at home and in Nygren scored a hat-trick against Fenerbahce in Europe, and is obviously a very good What's not to get excited about? Another Scandinavian with a clear determination to advance his career and full of positivity. I've seen him play for Sweden and he has bags of energy and drive. Almost looks like he's a mini Daizen, but let's not burden the boy with too much The signing of Nygren could turn out to be a very shrewd piece of business. He appears to be a player on an upward path and with the guidance of Brendan Rodgers, we can hopefully continue his progression. If we can get two/three good seasons out of him then we could end up with a £30m+ asset. Either way it certainly looks like £1.5m well Nygren looks like the real deal. It's difficult to make one's mind up based on highlight reels, right enough. He is saying the right things in the media, regarding his winning mentality, his experience and what he thinks will be expected of him while wearing the hoops. I just hope he has the longevity to do it season after season, on a cold wet Wednesday night in the north east of Scotland!
Daily Record
39 minutes ago
- Daily Record
Imminent Rangers transfer ridiculed as Hotline spots the real answer staring Russell Martin in the face
The calculators are out on the Hotline but is the free transfer option one Rangers should be pursuing? Robert Livingstone, Palm Beach, thinks so. He said: "It's unlikely Rangers will get the money wanted for Hamza lgamane, he'll stay. With Dessers it's been a drawn-out affair for that extra £1m, he also may stay. So any point spending £5m on a risky untried Dor Turgeman who may or may not be any good? " Russell Martin wants to wake up to himself and get Lawrence Shankland for nothing, it's staring him in the face. He's fit and ready for European and SPFL games. Most punters say it's common sense, and last chance saloon for Martin to get him." Charles Maxwell reckons former head of recruitment Nils Koppen is due some credit for his role in bringing Igamane to Ibrox in the first place. He said: "Going by the figures flying around for Igamane, it's beginning to look like blue chip holdings sold the golden goose just as it was starting to lay an egg or two. "Perhaps now the poorly treated and recently punted Nils Koppen will get the credit he deserves." Gordon Ashley, Ayr, said: "Rangers and their fans need to stop dreaming. I was scoffed at by Chris Lowe and co for mocking Rangers £25m valuation of Igamane and now it seems that has dropped to a pitiful £13m and the likes of Lille are walking away laughing. "Celtic get big money deals for our players because we are champions and play at a much higher level in Europe so get used to it. " Rangers have been heavily linked with Brighton teenager Zebedee Lawson but Richard Wharton, Carlisle, said: "Who is this Zebedee who has turned down Liverpool, Bayern Munich and Dortmund to sign on at Govan? Oh yes he's from the magic roundabout!" Across the city Jimmy Murray, Edinburgh, has two exits he'd like to see at Celtic. He said: "So fed up with the same crap coming out of Parkhead every transfer window. Forget buying rubbish. Just get proper professional coaches in and bring through the talent at Lennoxtown. "What we have now is coach John Kennedy who wanders about the training ground with a notepad and fellow hanger-on Gavin Strachan who does the same only with his trusty laptop. Get this pair out or Celtic will never go forward." Stephen Mulhern, Dumbarton, said: "It's reported that Brenford are the latest club to be linked with Daizan Maeda but I think he will have second thoughts regarding moving at this stage of his career when seeing how Matt O'Riley and Kyogo's moves turned out. "Brentford are hardly a Bayern and I can see him moving to a top European side in the future but not at this moment in time." And a quote from Jim Goodwin after signing defender Bert Esselink has caught Tim Gibbens' attention. He said: "Are Dundee United now being managed by an algorithm? "Jim Goodwin announced the signing of Bert Esselink by saying that 'the statistical data reinforces his intelligence when selecting a progressive passing option'. Can you imagine the likes of Jock Stein or Brian Clough ever saying that?"
The National
an hour ago
- The National
Celtic assistant reflects on 2024/25 season in rare interview
The 41-year-old opened up after the Scottish Premiership champions returned to Lennoxtown for pre-season. Kennedy reflected on the 2024/25 campaign, as well as the positives of summer downtime. He said [Celtic TV]: "It's nice to see everybody's face again. It's been a good break, we've had time to reset, relax, get refreshed again, and the boys have come in this morning in pretty good shape and excited for what's ahead. Read more: "There are challenges in terms of the physical aspect, the demand of the game. We all know nowadays it's huge, the physical outputs. Plus, the number of games that they go through. "The guys were terrific last year. The way it finished kind of took the shine off it a little bit, but once the dust settles, and you reflect on how everything went, the guys were superb. "They put everything into it, okay, just came up short in the [Scottish Cup] final, but the way we performed in the league, the league cup earlier in the season, the Champions League stuff, we can look back on that and take a lot of positives, and be positive going innto this season again. "It's good for them to reflect on that, but get a chance to switch off, let the legs recover, let the mind recover, and come in with the same hunger and desire to be successful again because that's what the club demands. There's no let-up."
