Rangers will be without the striker for tonight’s match following his suspension
Rangers striker Alfredo Morelos continues to attract criticism in the wake of his elbow controversy, with pundit Stephen Craigan adding to the voices of condemnation.
Morelos faces a two-game suspension following the SFA’s decision to hand him a violent conduct charge, and now misses tonight’s Betfred Cup quarter-final against St Mirren as well as Saturday’s Premiership match against Motherwell at Ibrox.
The Colombian appeared to catch Dundee United defender Mark Connolly with an elbow at Tannadice on Sunday, but referee Steven McLean felt the incident only merited a yellow card.
Former Rangers strikers Kris Boyd and Ally McCoist were on punditry duties for Sky Sports and both reacted with dismay. Boyd insisted Morelos was “very, very lucky” to have remained on the pitch while McCoist said: “It’s crazy, it’s absolutely crazy. It could’ve been a red, it could’ve been.”
Former Motherwell and Partick Thistle player Craigan was similarly unimpressed with the 24-year-old, and believes there was intent on Morelos’ part.
Speaking on Go Radio, Craigan said: “First and foremost, if you look at the pictures, the pictures don’t lie.
“I have no problems with players using their arms to leverage themselves and get off the ground.
“He was never winning the ball, at no stage did he take his eyes off Mark Connolly from that camera angle. The ball was irrelevant to him.
“What does he want the compliance officer to do? What does he want us to talk about?
“Quite clearly, he threw his arm as a weapon. His intent is to harm an opponent.
“I just think it was in an area of the pitch that was meaningless, it was a header that Mark Connolly won, it wasn’t going to affect the game, it wasn’t going to hurt Rangers in any way.
“And all Alfredo Morelos has done is draw attention to himself. And when you look at the pictures, there is very little room to manoeuvre.”
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