Neil Lennon attacked by fan as Celtic see off Hearts to keep title hopes alive

Celtic's manager, Neil Lennon, was attacked by a supporter from the main stand at Tynecastle in an incident that overshadowed the visitors' victory which takes the Scottish Premier League title race to the final day of the season.

Early in the second half a man ran towards Lennon and attempted to punch and grab him round the neck. The assailant made some contact with Lennon but was swiftly wrestled to the ground by coaches in the visiting technical area. Lennon responded by kicking at his assailant himself as police and stewards intervened.

Given ongoing security issues surrounding Lennon, his shaken look was of little surprise, but he was unhurt.

A section of the Celtic following subsequently became embroiled in fighting with the police and stewards. It was another grim chapter in an ugly Scottish campaign; fittingly, the match finished 10-a-side.

The chief executive of the Scottish Football Association, Stewart Regan, issued an immediate statement in condemnation of the Lennon affair. He said: "Clearly this kind of behaviour from supporters is wholly unacceptable. The safety of players, club officials and match officials is paramount on or around the field of play, and this clear breach of security is a matter I will be discussing with SPL chief executive Neil Doncaster tomorrow."

Fixtures between these two teams have taken on a fresh, toxic twist in recent times but not to the scale of tonight. Hearts' security arrangements will be the first thing under the scrutiny of both the SFA and the SPL as they pick through events tomorrow morning. There was little shock about the appearance of a Celtic security official alongside Lennon as he took to the pitch to acknowledge visiting supporters at full-time.

Rangers' victory over Dundee United 24 hours earlier had left Celtic with a perfectly straightforward task. Only an away win in Edinburgh would leave Celtic's oldest foes requiring the same result from Sunday's trip to Kilmarnock in order to secure the title.

Tuesday night's events at Ibrox also impacted on Hearts. United's defeat meant the Tynecastle team were confirmed as the SPL's third-placed team for this season, and will compete in the qualifying phase of the Europa League.

Such factors looked pertinent as Celtic opened by far the stronger. Gary Hooper endorsed that dominance after collecting a Kris Commons pass. Marius Zaliukas, the Hearts defender controversially left out for the weekend visit to Rangers, was culpable in handing the visitors possession.

Marian Kello fumbled a Commons shot onto a post as Celtic chased a second, Georgios Samaras somehow contriving to miss the rebound.

The hosts' task was made more arduous by the dismissal of David Obua, 13 minutes before the interval. The Ugandan offered little more than a hand-off to Charlie Mulgrew, with the assistant referee Keith Sorbie bizarrely instructing Craig Thomson to issue a red card. Hearts were unsure whether to be angry or bemused. Even Lennon looked sympathetic.

Hooper's second goal prompted ugly scenes. The striker collected a Ki Sung-Yeung pass before slotting home; which proved too much for one punter in the enclosure area of the main stand.

As he was huckled up the tunnel by police, trouble also broke out when the police moved into the Celtic end; the most vocal pro-IRA chanting of the night surrounded what bother occurred there.

Commons maintained what has been a prolific season with a cool finish at an angle, sealing Hearts' on-field fate at least. To round off an evening of madness, the former Derby County player promptly received a red card.

Commons, booked only moments earlier for diving, left the playing area and ran into the Celtic fans to celebrate, prompting a second yellow card.