Dunfermline decry 'severe' four-game Lennon ban

Dunfermline Athletic are "extremely disappointed with the severity" of manager Neil Lennon's four-match touchline ban.

Lennon, 54, has also been given a further two-game suspended ban after criticising officials in the wake of the Pars' 3-2 defeat at Ross County on 25 October.

He had told BBC Scotland post-match that referee Duncan Nicolson "had cost us at least a point" and said it had been "an abomination of a performance" by the official.

"I don't want him refereeing any of our games again," he added.

"We acknowledge our manager's choice of words post-match constitutes a breach of the disciplinary rules, and the club accepts the decision of the Scottish FA Judicial Panel," Dunfermline said.

"We were disappointed that the mitigating factors around the match were not taken into account, namely the video evidence highlighting several contentious decisions in the game and disparaging remarks made by an assistant referee to members of our coaching staff post-match."

Dunfermline cited previous "ongoing dialogue with the refereeing department in regard to several contentious decisions in important fixtures that had gone against us".

"These incidents also played into the frustration shown by the manager at full-time," they added.

"As a club we believe it is important to stand up for what we believe is right, for our club, our manager and our supporters.

"The club is extremely disappointed with the severity of the sanction."

Former Celtic, Bolton Wanderers and Hibernian boss Lennon's Dunfermline are fifth in the second tier and host Arbroath on Saturday.