SHOW RESPECT

MARK WILSON Football has ‘duty of care’ to referees, says Gerrard

STEVEN GERRARD has insisted Scotland’s referees must be respected as he lamented the Old Firm fall-out experienced by John Beaton.

The Rangers manager had his say on the row that erupted after the match official took no action against Alfredo Morelos for three separate incidents in the 1-0 win over Celtic on December 29.

Any possibility of retrospective punishment for the Colombian striker by the SFA was ruled out because Beaton had seen the flashpoints with Scott Brown, Ryan Christie and Anthony Ralston.

Celtic released a statement expressing surprise at that stance and claimed Beaton should be allowed to publicly explain his decisions. It later emerged that the official had contacted police after receiving allegedly threatening messages as the derby aftermath rumbled on.

Gerrard feels football has a ‘duty of care’ to try and protect referees. That was a message he

also expressed in November when he said a Rangers statement strongly criticising Willie Collum was ‘not my words’.

‘We do not like to see a referee receiving threats on the back of an Old Firm game,’ said Gerrard. ‘The referee has virtually an impossible job because he’s dealing with two sets of players who are fired up.

‘He’ll see certain things and he’ll miss things, that’s human nature. We had a situation where (Daniel) Candeias was on the end of a really nasty challenge.

‘I was aware of the (Morelos) incidents being highlighted but it wasn’t a surprise at all when he didn’t have a case to answer.

‘You can obviously go back in every single game of football all over the world and analyse certain situations referees have missed.

‘It’s a very difficult job out there, especially in the heat of an Old Firm. But we’ve got a duty of care to respect referees and appreciate the job they do.

‘At times this year decisions have gone against us — at Dundee there was an offside that killed us for two points. But you’ve got to have the respect for the referees.’

Morelos will join up with the Rangers training camp in Tenerife today having not been on the squad flight that departed Glasgow Airport yesterday morning.

‘Alfredo is coming a day late, because I have rewarded him with that extra day,’ said Gerrard. ‘He has to travel further than anyone else.’

The Ibrox manager has signed Jermain Defoe and Steven Davis on loan and tied up pre-contract agreements for Jordan Jones and Glen Kamara. Any additional business this month may depend on players exiting.

‘Jordan and Glen are signings for the big picture but I’ve got a responsibility to try and improve the team now and get results now but also think about trying to strengthen the squad for the years to come,’ said Gerrard.

‘They are two really good signings in terms of potential and are very excited to come but we’ve asked them to be respectful to the clubs they’re at because Kilmarnock and Dundee have been helpful.

‘There will possibly be players moving on and that will dictate whether we add anyone else to the squad. At the moment, we are very satisfied with what we’ve got but if someone wants to leave we probably would look for cover.’ DEFOE WILL GUARANTEE US GOALS, SAYS GERRARD: Pages 74-75