Old Firm may live to regret silly bookings
Alfredo Morelos and Dedryck Boyata should know better.
However, their petulance means both will miss their clubs’ appearances in the Betfred Cup semifinals next month. Rangers striker Morelos is suspended after picking up his second yellow card of the tournament in the 4-0 midweek win against Ayr United. He had been booked in the previous round at Kilmarnock, and knew he was walking a tightrope. His yellow card on Wednesday night was for dissent, after referee Bobby Madden felt the Colombian protested too much over a decision. Players really should know better, and it cast a cloud over another good night for the club – and for the player as he’d scored in the game. Morelos has been in trouble a few times this season, and he clearly has a problem with keeping his feelings to himself. He is very reactive to decisions made by officials. It seems that he feeds off that kind of thing, and it is part of his all-round package. But he will need to quieten down a wee bit, that’s for sure. With certain players, having that in their make-up is also part of what makes them as a footballer, and you don’t want to eradicate it completely from their game, and lessen their ability in any way. With Morelos, it’s up to Steven Gerrard to deal with it all as he sees fit, and he will do so in the right manner. With Kyle Lafferty cup-tied, it leaves Rangers short of options for the centre-forward role against Aberdeen next month and makes the Ibrox side’s job all the more difficult. Celtic will be without Boyata for their semi-final against Hearts after he was red carded in the closing seconds of their 1-0 win at St Johnstone. Again, his offence was totally unnecessary. Brendan Rodgers was far from happy with the Belgian defender, and quite rightly so. Honestly, what was the player thinking about? The only consolation is that Celtic have options for the centre of defence. When I was a player, I loved to moan and groan at referees. I picked up a few yellow cards during my career for dissent. Well, I was never going to pick up a booking for tackling! But once I had been cautioned, then I knew that I had to draw it back in and be careful. I was never red-carded. It was all about picking and choosing your time carefully to let a match official know that you weren’t happy. With neither Morelos or Boyata adopting that approach, it will be interesting to see who Steven goes with as his No.9 against the Dons and who Brendan plays in defence against Hearts at Hampden. Both semis are being played on the same day at the same venue, and I think it’s a logical decision by the SPFL in what must have been an almighty headache for them. There was no perfect answer and we knew some people would complain about it. What is important is that we showcase both semis and make the most of it. Scottish football needs to help itself first and foremost, and this is another chance. Keep the sponsors onside, don’t alienate them. On the park, we have an opportunity for two excellent semi-s and, regardless of the results, we’ll have a mouthwatering Final. For Derek McInnes, Craig Levein and Steven, it’s a chance to claim their first piece of silverware at their current clubs, and that is a massive thing. Brendan Rodgers will be keen to win it for the third season on the trot. There has been even more focus than usual on him and his team in the past few weeks because results and performances haven’t been up to the high standards they have set under him. He put himself in the headlines last midweek when he spoke about turning down a lucrative offer in the summer to go to China and manage a club over there. I don’t quite get why he would want to put that out in the public domain. I always think that any approaches should be kept private, and within the guidelines set out by your current employer in terms of making them aware of any interest. That was always the way I liked to do my business.