ITV apologise to Celtic over tweet mocking their Champions League chances

ITV officials were forced to apologise after a tweet from their football account dismissed Celtic’s chances in the Champions League and provoked a response from manager Neil Lennon.

Celtic were given a tough challenge in yesterday’s Champions League draw when they were placed in Group G with Barcelona, Benfica and Spartak Moscow.

This news was swiftly followed by a tweet from @itvfootball which read: “Bye bye Celtic. They’ve drawn Barcelona, Benfica and Spartak Moscow.”

The broadcaster has since deleted the tweet from the account, which has over 90,000 followers.

But not before Celtic boss Neil Lennon took to his own Twitter account to register his disapproval.

Lennon wrote: “I think itv owe us an apology.”

The spat provoked the anger of Celtic fans on the social network, prompting ITV to issue an apology: “To Celtic fans out there - we mean no disrespect. An ill-advised way of us saying we think you’ve got a very tough draw. Apologies.”

Celtic’s first match in the Champions League group phase will be at home to Portuguese runners-up Benfica on September 19.