GERRARD ‘FEELS CELTIC’S PAIN’ OVER SFA INCONSISTENCIES
Ibrox boss concurs with Kennedy over SFA’s Covid ‘inconsistency’
STEVEN GERRARD insists he shares John Kennedy’s frustration over SFA inconsistency on Covid breaches — and claims to ‘feels his pain’ that three Rangers firstteam players can face Celtic next week.
The Ibrox manager issued a firm response after Kennedy criticised the governing body for taking so long to deal with the case involving Nathan Patterson, Bongani Zungu and Calvin Bassey, as well as youngsters Dapo Mebude and Brian Kinnear.
A Rangers appeal against the six-game bans handed down for breaking Covid rules will not be heard until April 20, leaving the players available for the Old Firm Scottish Cup clash at Ibrox three days earlier.
Gerrard agrees with Kennedy that problems with the system had again been exposed but he also highlighted how other incidents had been handled, including Celtic player Boli Bolingoli’s unauthorised trip to
“Good players are available to face his team”
Spain and the Parkhead club’s controversial January training camp in Dubai.
Defending Rangers’ right to appeal, Gerrard stressed the timing of the hearing was out of their hands.
‘We have had news the hearing is when it is, which means the lads will be available for the next couple (of games),’ he said.
‘Of course that’s a boost. We didn’t expect that, but it is what it is, those decisions are out of our control, we don’t decide when those hearings are.
‘We wait for contact and the SFA have given us a date and we have accepted the date, so we will deal with that when it comes.
‘I agree with John in terms of the inconsistencies from the SFA because we have been speaking about that for some time now.
‘When you are talking about punishment, Bolingoli left the country of his own will and then came back and trained amongst his peers and then went to Kilmarnock and put other people’s health in jeopardy. He was given a five-game ban and three were suspended.
‘And the Aberdeen guys were given three games and they were all suspended.
‘I definitely agree with John in terms of the inconsistencies and, to be honest, I would probably be a bit frustrated as well if good players were available to play against his team next week. So I feel his pain.’
Gerrard pointed out that no SFA action was taken after what Kennedy described as ‘minor slipups’ in terms of Covid protocols while Celtic were in Dubai.
‘Nothing has really come of the Dubai trip, the only thing that has come of it is that no one else is allowed to go on a training camp,’ added the Ibrox boss.
‘We obviously move on from that incident but rules were broken on that trip in terms of drinking with no social distancing.
‘But the Celtic business is not really for me to talk about. My concerns are Rangers and we will look forward to that hearing and deal with it as and when.
‘But I agree with John in terms of the inconsistencies, especially when it comes to punishments.’
Rangers accepted seven-game bans for Jordan Jones and George Edmundson after they attended a house party in November, but Gerrard believes the more recent breach — also for attending a house party — is different.
‘The boys have made a mistake and it was indefensible,’ he said of the five players. ‘But we were at the forefront of being on top of it. We suspended our players and we gave them the maximum fine.
‘They missed games on the back of that but that was our decision at the club, we weren’t told by the government to do that.
‘That was our decision and also handing down the maximum fine. I was firm and strong with what I said to those players face-to-face in terms of it being unacceptable and about how we as a club felt.
‘I don’t think what we’ve done to the players in terms of punishment has been taken into consideration in this situation.
‘Plus, we are the only people who know the details of what happened on that night.’
Asked what he hoped could be done to correct inconsistencies in the future, Gerrard added: ‘The only people who can find those consistencies are the SFA.
‘Not just in Covid situations. How many times have we spoken about inconsistencies?
‘I think there was an incident when (Alfredo) Morelos and Ryan Kent were suspended on the back of an Old Firm game. I can’t remember the exact one.
‘Then I think Scott Brown got a retrospective ban later on once the league was won.
‘We didn’t mention that as Rangers because we just worry about our situation.’
Jack Ross, whose Hibernian team visit Ibrox on Premiership duty tomorrow, has also declared himself equally puzzled by the SFA’s disciplinary procedures.
‘I do think there is an alarming lack of consistency over how disciplinary procedures are carried out,’ he said.
‘I can’t quite get my head around it. Somebody needs to explain how some cases are done much more quickly than others.’