OUT OF ORDER

Gerrard rages at officials but red card could see him miss Old Firm clash

STEVEN GERRARD insists he is not sweating over a potential Old Firm touchline ban after being red-carded for raging at the referee at Livingston last night.

The Ibrox boss watched his side go to within four points of the Premiership title after Alfredo Morelos scored an 87th-minute winner at the Tony Macaroni Arena. But

Gerrard was shown two yellow cards for protesting a mistake by referee John Beaton, who booked Morelos for diving when the Colombian had been fouled in the box by keeper Max Stryjek. Gerrard could now face being suspended for the trip to Celtic Park on March 21 — a date that could see Rangers crowned champions. But he said: ‘I’m not worried (about a ban). I’m looking forward to beating St Mirren on Saturday. ‘If someone wants to stop me being on the side of a pitch (at Parkhead), don’t worry — I’ll celebrate when the time comes. ‘It was a blatant penalty, a stone-waller. I’m someone who wants to support officials because we are all human and we will all make a mistake. ‘But what I can’t stand for at this level is three people all making the same mistake. ‘The match officials all had clear views of it. I could see it and I’m the furthest away! ‘There are three officials at this level who all got it wrong together — I can’t have that. ‘I asked (Beaton) for an explanation and he refused to speak to me. ‘I think I’m entitled to a conversation but obviously not. I got a little bit emotional, which I apologise for.’ Gerrard, who confirmed Rangers will appeal the yellow card shown to Morelos, was delighted the Colombian bounced back to score the only goal of the game. He said: ‘That’s what top strikers do. They are in the right place at the right time. ‘I thought at one point it wasn’t going to be Alfredo’s night but, credit to him, he never gave up. ‘The team showed really good patience. We stuck with it and we have shown all season that we are not going to go away. We are three points closer to where we want to be. We are so close now. ‘We are four points away from the title? It might not be four! ‘We just need to win the next game and take maximum points and we will see what happens from there. ‘We just need to keep winning. The next game will come on us pretty fast. We’ll make a few changes for the weekend and we’ll get ready for St Mirren.’ Livingston boss David Martindale, meanwhile, admitted he could empathise with Gerrard. He said: ‘We got away with one in the first half, so I could understand Steven Gerrard’s reaction, of course I could. ‘I would have been the same. Your emotions are high. They’re chasing title 55 and they haven’t won it for ten years. ‘John Beaton didn’t mean to make a bad decision but your emotions take over and I can understand 100 per cent Steven’s frustrations.’