Lennon details Walter Smith's reaction to McCoist bust-up
The game, which has gone down in history with three red cards, 13 yellows and 34 fan arrests at Celtic Park, is remembered for the heated exchange between Lennon and McCoist.
The match resulted in Scottish government intervention in the days that followed the cup replay, with Celtic emerging victorious courtesy of a Mark Wilson goal.
Speaking on Open Goal, Lennon has delivered his version of events, as he claimed the altercation began after "nasty antics" from El Hadji Diouf.
Lennon 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'.
"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."
Lennon went on to describe the moment he and McCoist squared up to each other at the end of the match.
He said: "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?'"
Asked about Smith's reaction, Lennon continued: "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."
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The game, which has gone down in history with three red cards, 13 yellows and 34 fan arrests at Celtic Park, is remembered for the heated exchange between Lennon and McCoist. The match resulted in Scottish government intervention in the days that followed the cup replay, with Celtic emerging victorious courtesy of a Mark Wilson goal. Speaking on Open Goal, Lennon has delivered his version of events, as he claimed the altercation began after "nasty antics" from El Hadji Diouf. Lennon 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'. "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." Lennon went on to describe the moment he and McCoist squared up to each other at the end of the match. He said: "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?'" Asked about Smith's reaction, Lennon continued: "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."
