Two men charged in investigation

Published May. 13, 2011 1:00 a.m. ET

foxsports

Two men were charged on Friday with sending letter bombs to Celtic manager Neil Lennon and two prominent fans of the Glasgow club.

Trevor Muirhead, 43, and Neil McKenzie, 41, appeared at Kilmarnock Sheriff Court charged with three counts of dispatching packages containing explosive substances and two of sending hoax bombs. Neither man entered a plea and both were detained in custody.

The packages were intercepted before reaching their targets and did not explode.

The incidents happened in the weeks after a tumultuous Scottish Cup match between Glasgow rivals Celtic and Rangers in March, when three Rangers players were sent off before Lennon and Rangers assistant manager Ally McCoist became involved in a heated exchange after the final whistle.

The first parcel bomb targeting Lennon was found on March 4 and a second was intercepted at a sorting office outside Glasgow on March 26.

Another package destined for Celtic-supporting Scottish lawmaker Trish Godman was intercepted at her office two days later. A fourth package destined for Paul McBride, a lawyer who has represented Lennon, was intercepted in April.

Matches between the two Glasgow rivals this season have increasingly been inflamed with sectarian tensions. While Celtic is traditionally supported by Irish Catholics, Rangers is both mainly backed by Protestants.

In a separate incident, police were called to Celtic's ground on Thursday after a suspect package believed to have contained a bullet and addressed to Lennon was found.

On Wednesday, Lennon was attacked by a Hearts fan during Celtic's 3-0 win over the predominantly Protestant-supported side.

John Wilson, of Edinburgh, ran onto the field from the home section of the main stand and lunged at Lennon, making contact with the back of his head. He was charged under Scotland's anti-sectarian laws with assault and breach of the peace, both aggravated by religious prejudice.