NEIL Lennon last night insisted Scottish football was being 'dragged into the gutter' by the death threats aimed at referee John Beaton.
These threats are the latest in what is a worrying number of unacceptable incident in recent months, which have included the Hibernian manager being hit by a coin at the end of the Edinburgh derby.
And Lennon believes this is shaming the country, with his former team-mate Chris Sutton also a target.
Lennon, speaking to the BBC, said: "It's absolutely disgraceful. I think it's dragging the name of Scottish football into the gutter.
"I've been involved in incidents like this myself - as a lot of people have been - and it just seems to be one thing after another now.
"It's shameful and my sympathies go to John and his family.
"The guy is just trying to do his job as honestly as he can so we have to address this issue.
"I've been saying for a long time now, the authorities aren't strong enough on the perpetrators of these acts. The authorities - whether it's in football or in government - need to crackdown on this.
"It's happening far too often and it's very, very distressing, not only for the individual but his loved ones and friends. It's just totally out of order.
"It's a game of football but these people need to be brought to justice and humiliated in public.
"Hopefully that will be a deterrent for anyone else thinking about doing it.
"Referees get criticised and that's fine because they will make mistakes as we all do - but don't go beyond that. It's a game of football at the end of the day.
"It's a sport that we all love and these people are darkening the image of the game. Scottish football in essence is a great public spectacle and these people are spoiling it. And it's not a minority either - my worry is that it's happening far too often now."
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel