Neil Lennon taking legal advice after Rangers denied him access to Ibrox saying he was security risk
FORMER Celtic boss Neil Lennon is believed to be taking legal advice after being denied access to Ibrox.
The Hoops legend and former Parkhead striker Chris Sutton were both told by Rangers they couldn’t attend tonight’s Europa League match against Lyon.
Ibrox chiefs informed BT Sport that they could not guarantee their safety.
It’s understood that Lennon is taking legal advice over possible compensation for loss of earnings as a result of Rangers’ decision.
Lennon and Sutton had been asked by BT Sport to be their analysts for the 5.45pm kick-off between Real Betis and Celtic in Seville from a Winnebago outside the stadium and then do the same again from an open studio inside Ibrox – a 40-yard walk away – for the 8pm kick-off.
However, Rangers managing director Stewart Robertson informed BT that the club could not ensure the pair’s security at such short notice and that, as a result, they could not be admitted inside the ground.
BT had followed their usual protocol by contacting UEFA and Rangers with the names of those who would be working for them on Wednesday. That led to text messages later that night, which resulted in the club rejecting BT’s request for accreditation for Lennon and Sutton.
Former Rangers stars Ally McCoist, Neil McCann, Derek McInnes and Kris Boyd have broadcast from Parkhead recently without any such issues.
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McCoist and former captain David Weir have been drafted in to replace them for the Rangers match, while the Celtic game will now be covered from BT’s studio in London.
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Sutton, for his part, attacked the club’s response on social media.
A BT spokesperson said: “We had hoped that Darrell Currie and the team would be able to present the coverage of both the Celtic and Rangers UEFA Europa League games live from Ibrox this evening, as we have done in the past.
“Rangers have since raised security concerns and so we have had to change our plans.
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“This evening Paul Dempsey will now present our UEFA Europa League coverage of Real Betis v Celtic alongside Stiliyan Petrov live from the BT Sport Studio in Stratford. Darrell Currie, Ally McCoist and David Weir will present Rangers v Lyon live from Ibrox.”
Rangers insist they have fulfilled all obligations towards UEFA.
They said: “We have complied with all UEFA contractual obligations to facilitate BT as host broadcaster. Any conjecture or speculation is both inaccurate and unhelpful.”
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