Rangers winger Ross McCausland was “kicked off the pitch,” according to Philippe Clement, after a horrific tackle during the Scottish Premiership loss to Motherwell.
After the club’s tenuous hold on the top spot in the Premiership was compromised by an exhausting loss to the Steelmen, the Ibrox manager didn’t hold back while speaking after the game.
The Gers lost 2-1 to Stuart Kettlewell’s team despite missing numerous opportunities and not handling either of Motherwell’s goals.
However, it’s evident that Philippe Clement was dissatisfied with Ross McCausland’s level of protection at full time following the winger’s forced substitution in the first half.
Philippe Clement on Ross McCausland tackle
During halftime, Philippe Clement expressed his displeasure with a Motherwell tackle on Ross McCausland to the media in a frank and straightforward manner.
The guy who’d set the young Northern Irishman up with the terrifying challenge, Dan Casey, would go on to score the winning goal for Motherwell.
Clement also mentioned other instances in which Rangers players were sent off for less violent challenges, most likely alluding to Dujon Sterling’s red card against Aberdeen in February.
“Obviously, Ross is bad,” Clement remarked. He was ejected off the pitch.
“He was just ejected from the pitch. No foul, no yellow card, and no red card were present.
“To be honest, I don’t understand this decision, based on how we’ve been receiving red cards over the past few months.
“It’s excessively intense, and you should take a player off the pitch in the first half because he is unable to walk any longer. You should then realise that something serious happened there, but it is obviously not.”
Following that, the Rangers manager publicly pleaded with officials to provide his players with greater safety: “I think players need to be much better protected.” We’ve already had a number of players dismissed from the team this season, so I believe there should be more protection for them.
Nothing new for Motherwell vs. Rangers supporters
Hi Philippe Clement, and welcome to Scotland.
The fact that hammer throwers receive greater protection than real football players is nothing new to Rangers supporters, therefore Ross McCausland’s tackle and subsequent injury come as no surprise.
It reinforces the implicit message that weaker teams are permitted to break the rules—whether by overt violence or needless delays—in order to tip the odds against the Rangers.
It’s been going on since day one, and with Ross McCausland joining the Rangers’ growing list of injured players—Danilo and Todd Cantwell are two in particular who have died from hard treatment from the opposition—it’s not likely to stop.
Though we seriously doubt it considering that Rangers are involved, let’s hope Philippe Clement’s remarks put more pressure on referees to properly safeguard football players in Scotland.
Not to take anything away from Motherwell’s win, but it takes just a cursory look at the internet to realise that professional Rangers players are perceived as fair game.
