RANGERS ACCEPT BAN FOR MORELOS

RANGERS have accepted a two-game ban for Alfredo Morelos after the striker was cited by the Scottish FA over his clash with Dundee United defender Mark Connolly. Morelos was shown a yellow card by referee Steven McLean after his forearm struck Connolly’s face during an aerial challenge in Sunday’s match at Tannadice. Further action is permitted under SFA rules if the match officials did not see the full extent of the offence or it is deemed to be ‘exceptional in nature’. Morelos was yesterday issued with a notice of complaint for violent conduct and had been facing a disciplinary hearing tomorrow. However, Rangers moved to accept the sanction beforehand and bring forward the games Morelos will miss. The Colombian will sit out tonight’s Betfred Cup quarter-final against

St Mirren and Saturday’s Premiership meeting with Motherwell ell — but be available for next Wednesday’s esday’s trip to face St Johnstone. e. Morelos received the last st of his seven red cards for or Rangers in a 2-1 win over r Celtic almost a year ago. Gerrard defended the player in his postmatch comments on Sunday, rejecting claims that he had used an elbow on Connolly (right). t). ‘I didn’t see an elbow,’ said aid Gerrard. ‘If you look at him again, there’s no elbow there there. The referee saw it and dealt with it. It was a foul and a yellow card and it’s been dealt with. But, if you look at it again, next time I see you, you’ll say it wasn’t an elbow.’ Former United manager Craig Levein yesterday po poured fuel on the fire by accusin accusing Morelos of wanting to ‘settl ‘settle the score’ with Connolly follo following some rough tre treatment earlier in the game. In Insisting the Colombian is an easy target to upset, Levein said: ‘After one (hefty challenge) in particular, I actually saw Morelos take a wee note of who it was that ha had challenged him. ‘If you y want to upset Morelos, it’s no not that difficult. All you need to do is — early in the match — leav leave something on him. He seems to bear grudges and want to equal the score as quickly as possible. That happened just before he threw a forearm.’ Asked whether the offence was worthy of a red card, Levein added: ‘I do.’ The ban came on a day when Gerrard had earlier backed Morelos to end a dip in form that has left him without a league goal since September and having drawn blanks in his past six outings overall. ‘It’s quite normal for players to have dips in confidence or form,’ said the Rangers manager. ‘But what you do know is that it’s only temporary and we know he’ll bounce back.’ Despite the absence of Morelos, St Mirren defender Richard Tait knows full well Gerrard’s men will not be lacking in firepower for tonight’s Betfred Cup clash. In particular, Tait is wary of the threat posed by fellow full-back James Tavernier, who has netted an incredible 17 goals already this term. Tait said: ‘They are scoring from all areas of the pitch, especially when you have a full-back like Tavernier, who is absolutely outstanding. ‘As a full-back myself, you look at him and that’s what you aspire to be like. He’s a fantastic player, but they’ve got many other terrific players. ‘It’s going to be a tough night, we are going to have to ride our luck at times, but if things go our way then there’s no reason why we can’t cause an upset.’