Rangers fail in bid to have IFA’S Lafferty ban revoked

Rangers have failed to persuade Northern Ireland chiefs to release Kyle Lafferty for action against Hamilton on Sunday.

The Ibrox club held talks with the Irish Football Association (IFA) after it invoked Fifa’s five-day rule in the aftermath of the striker’s last-minute withdrawal from Michael O’neill’s squad ahead of last week’s Nations League double-header against Austria and Bosnia and Herzegovina.

However, their bid to have Lafferty cleared to face Accies failed.

The Ibrox club said in a statement: “Rangers can confirm Kyle Lafferty will not be available for the match against Hamilton on Sunday after the Irish FA invoked Fifa’s five-day rule. Talks have now been held among all parties and Rangers understands the position of the Irish FA.

“Kyle did not comply fully with international protocol but remains available for international selection.”

Lafferty called O’neill at midnight the night before he was due to meet up with the national team to say he would not be travelling, citing an Achilles complaint but leaving O’neill furious.

IFA bosses responded by triggering the seldom-used regulation which allows national associations to bar a player who turns down a call-up from representing their club during an international window as well as a subsequent five-day period.

An IFA statement read: “As the player did not comply with the association’s call-up, the player is in breach and as a result, the association is invoking the Fifa regulations for the status and transfer of players...which state that ‘the player is not entitled to play for the club with which he is registered during the period for which he has been released or should have been released pursuant to the provisions of this annexe.

“This restriction shall, moreover, be prolonged by five days in the event that the player, for whatsoever reason, did not wish to or was unable to comply with the call-up’.”