Alfredo Morelos has apologised to Rangers fans following his Celtic Park red card.
The Colombian striker vowed to do all he could to ensure there was no repeat after he received a fifth red of the season, for elbowing Scott Brown.
Rangers boss Steven Gerrard admitted he could no longer defend his top goalscorer and recommended the board give his weekly wage to the Light Blues fans who attended Sunday’s 2-1 derby defeat.
Morelos complained to both the assistant referee and the fourth official after lashing out when Brown clipped his heels but he showed more contrition on Monday as he posted a message on social media.
🙏🙏🙏 pic.twitter.com/mVi1TwsYHc— Alfredo Morelos (@morelos2106) April 1, 2019
The 22-year-old wrote on Twitter: “Good afternoon, I would like to offer an apology to all the fans, my team-mates and the coaching staff for what happened in yesterday’s match.
“I promise to do everything in my power to ensure that nothing like that happens again & to give the club and the fans my all. Thanks for the support and affection you’ve always given me.”
Morelos will now be banned for four matches – two extra games on top of his automatic suspension because of his previous record.
His first red card of the season was downgraded to a yellow for kicking Scott McKenna but he has now been sent off a further three times in the Ladbrokes Premiership and once in the Europa League.
The former HJK Helsinki striker has received a total of 20 yellow cards including the downgraded card against Aberdeen, with four of them being double-bookings which led to two reds.
Andy Halliday will also miss Wednesday’s visit of Hearts after receiving a second yellow card after the match, after taking exception to Brown’s celebrations. And Ryan Kent will discover before 3pm on Tuesday whether he faces a ban after lashing out at Brown in the wake of James Forrest’s 85th-minute winner.
Scottish Football Association compliance officer Clare Whyte has until then to instigate retrospective action. She would need the unanimous backing of three former match officials to issue a notice of complaint over any incident.
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