Lennon will be hit with an automatic two-match ban after being sent to the stand by referee Craig Thomson during his side`s 2-0 Clydesdale Bank Premier League defeat by Hearts last night.

Lennon was reported by fourth official Steven McLean following his complaints over a rejected penalty claim when Hearts midfielder Ryan Stevenson used a hand to take the ball away from Gary Hooper in the box.

And he reacted angrily towards McLean after being sent to the stand by the referee.

The two-match dugout ban is automatic unless Lennon appeals against his dismissal, but he may also face further sanctions if Thomson`s report accuses him of excessive misconduct. The Scottish Football Association were still awaiting the document this afternoon.

The SFA could issue another charge against Lennon for his post-match comments on the officials.

The Celtic manager described the fourth official`s decision as "scandalous" and confirmed he would be seeking clarification from the SFA, and would consider appealing.

He continued to hit out over the dismissed penalty claim after the match.

"It was a clear penalty," the former Celtic skipper said. "I can see that 45 yards away. It was a clear penalty and if Craig doesn't see it, why doesn't his assistant see it?"

Lennon was equally scathing of Thomson's decision to send off Joe Ledley for a sliding tackle on Ian Black, describing it as "disgraceful" and "ridiculous" and claimed it was not even a foul.

The Wales midfielder took the ball but used both feet in the challenge.

The row is the latest involving Lennon and match officials in the past four weeks.

Celtic wrote to the SFA seeking clarification over Dougie McDonald`s penalty U-turn in their 2-1 win at Dundee United and over a penalty award for Rangers by Willie Collum during their 3-1 Old Firm defeat.

And Lennon appeared to refer to McDonald`s admission that he had lied to the Celtic manager over the circumstances surrounding his decision to rescind the penalty.

When asked whether he would seek clarification over his dismissal, Lennon told BBC Scotland: "I will but they will probably have their story ready already."

Lennon added: "I don`t know where my relationship with officials lies.

"They keep getting big decisions wrong, game-changing decisions as well.

"Craig is supposed to be one of the best officials in the country. It doesn`t say a lot for the rest if that`s the case.

"I don`t want to go too far down the line in case I get myself into more trouble. Jim Jefferies is sitting in the stand tonight and I will be sitting in the stand for two games. We all can`t be wrong."

Lennon could find himself in trouble if his comments are referred to the SFA`s general purposes committee, which is due to meet later this month, but no action had been set in motion this afternoon.

Despite Lennon`s assertion that Ledley`s 56th-minute red card had changed the game, coming moments before David Templeton added to Ian Black`s first-half opener, the Celtic boss admitted his side had shown complacency following Saturday`s 9-0 win over Aberdeen.

"We were complacent going forward, we didn`t pass the ball well enough, we didn`t create enough opportunities," he said. "Too many players, particularly in forward areas, were off the boil."

Celtic remain just one point behind leaders Rangers following Hibernian`s 3-0 win at Ibrox but skipper Shaun Maloney warned they could not depend on their Old Firm rivals slipping up too often.

Maloney said: "We will be playing St Mirren on Sunday and the manager will go through why things went wrong.

"We need to make sure it doesn't happen again on Sunday, because we can't expect Rangers to slip up in too many games.

"When we came in at the end of the game and found out the result, it probably was (an opportunity lost).

"But in fairness, we need to look at our own performance on the night before we start counting on Rangers getting beat in home games.

"We didn't produce enough going forward and we weren't good enough attacking wise, especially first half, that was the reason we went in 1-0 down and in the end probably cost us the game."