Rangers pair jailed for Lennon attack

Published on Friday 16 January 2009 20:58

TWO Rangers fans were jailed for two years yesterday after being convicted of attacking the Celtic coach Neil Lennon and knocking him unconscious.

A jury at Glasgow Sheriff Court found David Whitelaw and Jeffrey Carrigan guilty of punching the star to the ground and then repeatedly kicking him in the head and body as he lay unconscious.

They claimed Lennon started the fight by pushing Carrigan and grabbing him by the throat, but witnesses told the court that Whitelaw threw the first punch.

The attack started after the men tried to taunt the 37-year-old about Rangers' 4-2 win over Celtic earlier that day.

After they were convicted, the court heard that Whitelaw was jailed for six years in 1993 for drug offences.

He also had other offences including assault and possession of an axe, and was convicted of breach of the peace just weeks before the attack. Carrigan was also jailed for five years for drug dealing in 2003.

Sheriff Martin Jones told the pair: "You have been convicted of a vicious, brutal and cowardly attack on an innocent member of the public who was making his way home in the early hours of the morning.

"Ashton Lane is an area popular with the public for its bars and restaurants and the public are entitled to feel safe there.

"After being punched to the ground and lying defenceless, you repeatedly kicked the complainer about the head and body and at some point he was rendered unconscious. You showed no concern for your victim and no appreciation of the consequences of your actions.

"The complainer was indeed fortunate that he didn't receive more serious injuries given the nature and ferocity of the assault."

Whitelaw and Carrigan smirked to members of their family in court as they were led to the cells.

The jury took around three hours to convict Whitelaw, 47, and Carrigan, 43, both from Knightswood, Glasgow, of assaulting Mr Lennon to his severe injury on 1 September, 2008.

The pair were originally charged with carrying out the attack due to religious prejudice, but this was removed from the charge.

The court earlier heard that the two men were out celebrating their team's success when they saw Mr Lennon standing in Ashton Lane in Glasgow's West End.

Carrigan said to the former footballer: "Did you like the score today, Lennon?" The coach gestured with his middle finger at the men.

Liam Cameron, a bar worker, told the court that he heard the men shout back "ya ginger c***", and onlooker Louise Bradley claimed that she heard someone shout: "Fenian b******."

The court heard Mr Lennon then shouted and marched towards the pair. James Dick, bar manager of the Ubiquitous Chip, told the court that he saw Mr Lennon push Carrigan on the chest before Whitelaw punched the former footballer.

Mr Cameron, who was walking just behind Mr Dick, said that Mr Lennon was arguing with Carrigan when Whitelaw threw a punch and knocked him to the ground.

The barman said:

"Mr Lennon then went down backwards and hit his head on the cobbles. He ended up on the ground on his back and his shoe came off. He was then kicked in the head more than three times by both men."

Lennon, who suffered cuts above his eye and lip, told the court that he could not remember anything about the attack. The former team captain later picked out Whitelaw in a police identity parade, but could not tell officers how he knew him.

Whitelaw and Carrigan were also identified by medical students Jonathan Bone, 21, and Louise Bradley, 26, who had seen the two men in a bar called Nude before the attack took place, then saw the incident unfold in Ashton Lane.

Police were later given the names of the two men following a media appeal for information.