Rangers man hits back at fierce criticism; Sutton might not be happy

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Ibrox striker Alfredo Morelos was criticised for actions during a recent Rangers game.

Rangers assistant manager Gary McAllister has hit back at criticism of Alfredo Morelos following a gesture made during last week’s win over Celtic, The Scottish Sun report.

Media outlets such as The Daily Record reported in the wake of the game that Morelos made a ‘throat-slitting’ motion towards the Celtic Park main stand after he was sent off upon receipt of a second yellow card.

Seen as an aggressive action by some, McAllister is insisting this week that this is something that the 23-year-old does to signify the end of training ground sessions and matches.

As quoted by The Scottish Sun, the Ibrox man said: “I’ve seen Alfredo make the sign two or three times before.

“Even when we come to the end of games in training sessions, he’ll make that sign. It’s something he feels is ‘game over’, as it’s the end of the game.

“He did it against FC Midtjylland, and we were six minutes over at Celtic and it was the end of the game. I thought the ref put four minutes up and Alfredo was sent off at six-and-a-half minutes, so the game WAS over.”

The incident had previously prompted an outcry from some, with pundits like Chris Sutton left furious by it all, calling on his coaches and representatives to publicly condemn Morelos or apologise.

In his regular Daily Record column at the weekend, the former Celtic striker said: “What I can’t fathom is if the player had meant something else why did he, or his representatives, not release a statement apologising for the misinterpretation and say it won’t happen again?

“That would maybe have helped and have diffused the situation. As for the different culture argument, yes he’s playing his football in another country but it’s not like he has only been here five minutes.

“Also, why has the manager of the club not come out and condemned this gesture for what it is? A violent gesture. That’s what I find difficult to understand.”

McAllister’s latest comments are unlikely to appease vocal critics such as Sutton then, but Rangers won’t care about that as long as they feel they are justly sticking up for one of their own.

Morelos is a crucial star at Ibrox. Keeping him happy and making him feel supported is a key goal for Steven Gerrard and his coaching staff.

Clearly the feeling at Rangers is the criticism has been over the top and their entire focus will be getting Morelos firing in more goals in the second half of the season.