Skacel is 'the lowest of the low. . .'

The Celtic skipper is still furious after yesterday's 3-0 defeat at Tynecastle. However, it was the actions of the Czech Republic player that left Lennon angrier than the final result.

Lennon is adamant Skacel's spit flew past his shoulder after the pair clashed in the 55th minute of the game.

TV pictures were inconclusive, as Setanta only have one angle of the flashpoint, but the Celtic captain has the backing of his team-mates close to the incident at the time who insist he was spat at. Skacel was accused of spitting in Dundee United defender Stuart Duff's face during in February, and 34-year-old Lennon is convinced the controversial Hearts man repeated the act yesterday.

Lennon, who was booked for his reaction, said: "Skacel spat at me - no doubt about it. I was walking away and it flew past my shoulder.

"I understand the TV pictures didn't catch it. I don't know if there were any other cameras in the ground that might have caught it, but he definitely spat at me and that is why I turned around and reacted the way I did.

"He is a total disgrace and it's not the first time he has done it since he moved to Scotland. I've been involved in plenty of Old Firm games, heated matches, but never had to deal with anything like this. The guy is the lowest of the low."

Asked if he had spat at Lennon, the Hearts man tried to body-swerve the question.

He replied: "It was a game of football and sometimes it gets a bit emotional. Maybe he was a bit angry as his team were 3-0 down - it was just one of those things."

But Lennon replied: "That's funny, because the scoreline was still 2-0 at that time and that had nothing to do with what happened.

"I went in and won the ball, the pictures clearly show me moving up the park as Skacel is getting up from the ground and then I turn around and confront him after the spit has flown over my shoulder.

"That's the truth and if he says anything different then he is a liar. I don't mind going on record saying so, because I know what happened."

Manager Gordon Strachan reacted to the incident by replacing Lennon with Stilian Petrov. Skacel was also booked moments later for chopping into Lennon from behind as a feud developed.

Strachan said: "I took Neil off because I didn't want to take any chances with him."

Taken from Evening Times