Rangers midfielder Ryan Jack faces a three-match ban for his tackle on Dylan Levitt on Sunday, former referee Keith Hackett has said.
The lowdown
In the closing moments of the game against Dundee United at Tannadice, the 29-year-old ‘went in hard’ on Levitt with a ‘crunching’ challenge, in the words of Football Scotland’s Blair Meikle. With his studs raised and the ball gone, he ended up catching the 21-year-old high on the shin.
Because referee Bobby Madden only awarded a free-kick rather than handing out a card, the SFA are able to hand out a retrospective ban if they deem it necessary.
That could see Jack miss the home game against sixth-placed Motherwell on Saturday, as well as the trip to St Johnstone (11th) and the Ibrox clash with Aberdeen (eighth) next month. He would then be available for the fixture at Dundee on 12 March.
The latest
Speaking to Ibrox News, Hackett was adamant that Jack should have been shown a red card for the challenge. He refused to accept that the tackle was merely accidental, claiming there was a degree of ‘frustration’ in it.
The 77-year-old, formerly the boss of PGMOL, said: “Absolute red card. I think this one is definitely for the panel. Absolutely [he should be banned for] three matches.
“The player is out of control, he knows exactly what he is doing, there’s a bit of frustration in it, he should walk.”
The verdict
This would be a further blow to Giovanni van Bronckhorst and Rangers, who slipped up at the weekend to fall three points behind Celtic in the Premiership title race.
Having seen his involvement severely restricted by injury beforehand, Jack has now featured in four of the past six league matches. The £3.15m-rated Scotsman played the full 90 minutes against Dundee United, making just his second league start of the campaign.
On an individual note, it would surely be hugely frustrating to be sidelined once again, whether or not any ban is merited.
Rangers would lose a player who, on Sunday, won four out of five ground duels, made three tackles and completed 82 out of 93 passes, including five out of eight long balls (via SofaScore). It was a performance which showed what Jack can bring to the Gers’ midfield, and what they would be missing if he is suspended for his moment of recklessness at Tannadice.
In other news, this Mail writer has issued a warning over one of Jack’s team-mates