Scott Brown has been treated like a "criminal" following his red card against Barcelona on Tuesday, according to Celtic manager Neil Lennon.
The Scotland international was dismissed for appearing to kick Brazilian forward Neymar during the club's 1-0 defeat to the Catalan giants in the Champions League.
Images have surfaced online of a man holding a kitchen knife to the throat of a frozen television picture of Lennon in recent days, prompting the 42-year-old manager to question why Brown has been vilified for his behaviour, while little has been made of the unnamed man in the photograph.
Asked whether or not the 28-year-old midfielder has been affected by the attention, Lennon told reporters: "You would do, wouldn't you? You are treated like a criminal sometimes.
"I mean there's a guy in the paper today holding a knife to a picture of me on a frozen TV screen but that is sort of laughed off, whereas Scott does something on the pitch and is treated far more harshly than other people are. You have to have a sense of perspective on this.
The Scottish champions sit bottom of their Champions League group following successive defeats to AC Milan and Barcelona.
Shane Callaghan
