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Rangers fail in appeal against suspensions handed to five players

Rangers fail in appeal against suspensions handed to five players
© Reuters
Nathan Patterson, Calvin Bassey, Bongani Zungu, Brian Kinnear and Dapo Mebude will serve four-game bans.

Rangers have failed in their appeal against suspensions handed to five players for breaching lockdown rules.

First-team players Nathan Patterson, Calvin Bassey, Bongani Zungu and loaned-out pair Brian Kinnear and Dapo Mebude must serve immediate four-game suspensions.

The players were initially handed six-game bans – with two of those matches suspended – by a Scottish Football Association disciplinary panel, and those punishments still stand.

The five players were given police fines for attending a house gathering during lockdown in the early hours of February 14, and SFA bans were announced on March 30 after they were found guilty of breaking SFA rules and not acting in the best interests of football.

Rangers appealed and Patterson played three games before the appeal hearing on Tuesday evening, including Sunday's Scottish Cup win over Celtic, before he and Bassey played against St Johnstone on Wednesday.

Patterson, Bassey and on-loan Zungu will now miss Sunday's Scottish Cup quarter-final against St Johnstone, a league game against Celtic and potentially a semi-final among their four matches.

Rangers boss Steven Gerrard had accused the SFA of "guessing" and being inconsistent with the initial punishments.

He highlighted breaches by eight Aberdeen players, who did not miss any games after a night out, and Celtic defender Boli Bolingoli, who served a three-match ban after facing Kilmarnock following a secret trip to Spain.

"We don't think everything has been taken into consideration when you are talking about the boys in terms of age and how damaging it could be for them in their careers moving forward now," said Gerrard, who went on to call for leniency for Patterson.

"You're talking about one of the brightest prospects ever in terms of right-back. This kid is going to go and play for Scotland and all of a sudden the SFA want to ban him for that long. I don't get it."

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Rangers manager Steven Gerrard before the match in the Europa League on February 18, 2021
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rhs 2.0
Today's games header
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
Championship Group
1Celtic000080265478
2RangersRangers000072234975
3Hearts000046341262
4Kilmarnock00004334951
5St Mirren00003843-543
6Dundee00004454-1041
Relegation Group
1Hibernian00004451-739
2Motherwell00004651-537
3Aberdeen00003549-1435
4St Johnstone00002446-2231
5Ross County00003256-2430
6Livingston00002259-3718
 
First Phase
1Celtic33246380265478
2RangersRangers33243672234975
3Hearts33195946341262
4Kilmarnock33131284334951
5St Mirren33127143843-543
6Dundee331011124454-1041
7Hibernian33912124451-739
8Motherwell33813124651-537
9Aberdeen33811143549-1435
10St Johnstone33710162446-2231
11Ross County3379173256-2430
12Livingston3339212259-3718


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