Rangers 1-0 Celtic: Neil Lennon rails against Nir Bitton Old Firm red card

Nir Bitton was dismissed just after the hour mark at Ibrox

Neil Lennon has railed against the Old Firm sending off Nir Bitton after his Celtic side slipped 19 points behind Rangers in the Scottish Premiership.

Israeli defender Bitton was dismissed just after the hour by Bobby Madden for pulling down Rangers’ Alfredo Morelos.

Until then, Celtic had been the better team but went on to lose 1-0 at Ibrox.

“We were the better team and I think the referee has made the wrong decision which has changed the course of the game,” Lennon told Sky Sports.

“It’s not a sending off. It’s a foul. We’ve got Kristoffer Ajer coming across on the cover. Morelos is in a wide position. It’s not a clear and obvious scoring opportunity.

“I’m bitterly disappointed. I thought [Bobby] was too quick to get the red card out. Again we’ve been done by a pretty poor refereeing performance. I don’t think he was great all day.”

Before the game, Lennon confirmed that defender Christopher Jullien will miss up to four months with a knee injury.

The Frenchman, 26, collided with a post while making a clearance during Wednesday’s 3-0 win against Dundee United and left the field on a stretcher.

“It’s a hammer blow for us really,” Lennon told Sky Sports. “He’s very important but it’s a bad injury so we’re going to lose him for quite a period of time, maybe three to four months.”