Lennon: Club football only (RossKinnaird/Allsport)

Lennon, a Catholic, withdrew from the friendly against Cyprus in Belfast just hours before he was due to lead his team out as captain on Wednesday. The caller said the threat was from a Protestant paramilitary group.

Lennon said 'enough was enough' and he would never play for his country again.

'It's a real pity that it all has to end like this,' he told the BBC on Thursday.

'My parents were pretty distraught. Obviously I can't put them through this every time,' he told Ulster Television.

The 31-year-old midfielder, who plays club football for Scottish champions Celtic, nearly quit after he was booed by Protestant Loyalist fans in a February 2001 international following his transfer to Celtic in late 2000.

The rivalry between Celtic and Glasgow rivals Rangers mirrors the emotive sectarian divide in Northern Ireland.

Northern Ireland manager Sammy McIlroy said he would do all he could to persuade Lennon not to quit.

'I understand the situation. He has been a good player, a great player, and he will be sadly missed.'

Jim Boyce, president of the Irish Football Association, said he was gutted by the death threat, one of rare occasions that the national team has been targetted by paramilitaries.

'I plan to speak to Neil and hope he will not run away. I can understand how he feels,' said Boyce.

'A lot of people made a lot of effort after the disgraceful scenes by a minority in February a year ago. So you can understand how I was gutted when I heard about the death threat.'

POLICE PROTECTION

In 1971, when Northern Ireland's guerrilla war between pro-British Protestants and Catholics who want to unite with the republic was at a peak, Northern Ireland soccer great George Best needed police protection after receiving death threats.

On Wednesday, McIlroy said Lennon had made his mind up not to play after discussing the threat with his parents.

Losing Lennon would be a major blow to McIlroy's hopes of qualifying for the 2004 European championship.

Drawn in group six, Northern Ireland stand little or no chance of taking the automatic qualifying spot ahead of Spain, but could potentially reach the play-offs at the expense of Ukraine, Greece and Armenia. They open their campaign next month in Spain.