A NEW book on Celtic’s historic European Cup triumph in 1967 has revealed how Jock Stein suspected the referee had been bribed by Inter Milan – and nearly came to blows with his opposite number Helenio Herrera at half-time during the final.

Celtic became the first British club to win the competition 50 years ago yesterday when they defeated Inter 2-1 in the Estadio Nacional in Lisbon thanks to second-half goals from Tommy Gemmell and Stevie Chalmers.

But the game against the Italian champions - who were highly fancied to lift the trophy having done so in both 1964 and 1965 - on May 25, 1967, got off to a bad start for the Scots when West German match official Kurt Tschenscher awarded the former winners a penalty.

Tschenscher ruled that Jim Craig, the Celtic right back, had brought down Renato Cappellini, the Inter striker, inside his own area and gave a spot kick which Sandro Mazzola, the Inter inside right, converted in just the seventh minute.

Pat Woods, a lifelong Celtic fan who has co-authored a new book about the game, We’ll Always Have Lisbon, along with David Frier, an honorary research fellow in Portuguese at the University of Leeds, discovered that decision provoked a furious reaction from Stein.

It also led to the Celtic manager squaring up to Herrera, the renowned Argentinian coach with whom he had a frosty relationship with, in the bowels of the stadium.

“Jock Stein, as anyone who played under him would tell you, had a ferocious temper,” said Pat. “At half-time, he had a go at the referee. He said he thought the penalty was bought. John Fallon, the reserve goalkeeper, saw this. According to John, he said: ‘A penalty kick? You were conned! Where are you gonna get your villa?’

“Inter also had a consigliere, or advisor, called Dottore Chiesa who sat next to Helenio Herrera, the manager, during the final. He also overheard Jock Stein telling the referee ‘Inter placed an order for that penalty’ as he came off the pitch. Chiesa was following behind them and saw what was going on.

“Herrera had been at the mind games before the final and had deliberately tried to put pressure on the referee. He had done an interview with the West German newspaper, Bildzeitung, in which he said: ‘Herr Tschenscher should be aware of the Scots’ ruggedness and be confident enough to blow his whistle in the opening 15 minutes or so’.

“Stein’s paranoia may also have arisen from reports emanating from Italy at that time about Inter’s influence on referees in Serie A. He was acutely suspicious of what was going on. He didn’t trust Herrera and thought something untoward was happening. He felt that Celtic weren’t getting fair decisions.

“Having said that, Stein was pictured with the referee and his linesmen at Lisbon Airport the following day as if nothing untoward had happened by a Portuguese newspaper.”

Pat added: “After his tirade at the referee, Jock then began to have a go at Herrera about his team’s tactics and their time wasting in particular as they went down the tunnel. Herrera tried to walk straight past him. But Jock kept on at him in his ear.

“When Herrera got to the dressing rooms he was so fed up he turned around and made an offensive gesture, the equivalent of the V sign, and Jock immediately grabbed him by his lapels. Giuliano Sarti, the Inter goalkeeper, had to intervene to stop the two men coming to blows. A reporter for Record, the daily Portuguese sports newspaper, witnessed this.”

We’ll Always Have Lisbon: Celtic’s Glory Year 1967 by Pat Woods and David Frier is available from Amazon and Celtic shops and is priced £9.99.