Celtic hero Neil Lennon reveals Walter Smith's ‘amazing' reaction to THAT infamous spat with Rangers legend Ally McCoist
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IT will forever be remembered as one of the most bitter exchanges in Old Firm history.
Celtic legend Neil Lennon has opened up on what really happened between himself and Ally McCoist during the infamous touchline spat in 2011.
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Ally McCoist and Neil Lennon squaring up on the touchline
Credit: News Group Newspapers Ltd
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Things got very heated at full-time
Credit: Reuters
The famous Scottish Cup meeting at Celtic Park resulted in three red cards, 13 yellow cards and 34 fans arrested.
It was the Hoops who came out on top courtesy of Mark Wilson's first and only Old Firm goal, but it wasn't just the action on the pitch that caught everyone's attention.
It's widely remembered as the time the Celtic and Rangers legend went head-to-head in an angry exchange at full-time.
The pair previously joked that it was Scott Brown who sparked the heated affair for noising up El Hadji Diouf.
But now the two-time Celtic boss has pinned all the blame on the Senegal forward.
Speaking on the Open Goal podcast, he 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'.
Incredible moment Celtic legend Neil Lennon was strangled by boss Martin O'Neill
"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."
On the incident with McCoist itself, Lennon continued: "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?'"
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Neil Lennon with Walter Smith in 2010
Credit: PA:Press Association
Lennon went on to reveal that Walter Smith let rip at not only himself, but McCoist as well, during a post-match meet-up in the Celtic manager's office.
On Smith's reaction, Lennon said: "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."
