‘Rubbish’ – Chris Sutton destroys Rangers after Tuesday statement
By Danny Wright
Former Celtic forward Chris Sutton has destroyed Rangers for their statement after Bruno Alves was offered a two-match ban by the Scottish FA for kicking out at Motherwell’s Louis Moult on Sunday.
Both Alves and Moult were caught lashing out at one another in the second half of the Scottish League Cup semi-final at Hampden Park, but only the Gers defender has been handed retrospective action by the SFA after he avoided punishment in the game.
Rangers responded fiercely with a statement on Tuesday, which labelled the ban as being “devoid of credibility and balance”.
Now, Sutton has hit out at the Gers for the way that they responded to Alves’ ban, saying that it was totally justified and that he should have been sent off against Motherwell.
“That’s rubbish, I mean that statement is devoid of credibility for denouncing Bruno Alves’s two-match ban,” said Sutton as shown on BT Sport Football’s official Twitter account on Tuesday.
“He should have got a two-match ban.
“What I would say is that the compliance officer has got a lot wrong this season and that may be justifiably so to why they feel peeved.
“But in isolation, Alves had to go. You can’t kick out. The other player [Moult] should have gone and I understand that, but you can’t complain about the Alves decision.”
Alves should be available to play against Kilmarnock on Wednesday as the Gers return to Premiership action at Ibrox, but could be banned for the match against Hearts at Murrayfield this weekend.
The Portguese centre-back has been a vital part of Pedro Caixinha’s defence this season and it will no doubt be a major blow to have him sidelined for any extended period.
Ross McCrorie is the likely option to replace Alves should his suspension stand after impressing when stepping in for him already this season.
In other Rangers news, Kris Boyd has torn into Caixinha and the Gers after their loss at Motherwell.
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