Philippe Clement drama as SFA touchline ban update emerges at Rangers
Philippe Clement is set to avoid any punishment following his red card in Rangers’ friendly loss to Hertha Berlin, according to Scottish Daily Mail.
The newspaper reported [15 January, page 63] that the Spanish FA are unlikely to report the incident to the Scottish FA after the Belgian was given his marching orders for dissent in a 1-0 loss against the Bundesliga 2 side.
Any potential punishment could see Clement miss one to three games in Scotland, which would make him unavailable to coach from the sidelines against Dumbarton in the Scottish FA Cup, and Hibernian and St Mirren in the Scottish Premiership.
Tempers flair
Clement has been a relatively calm manager since taking over the reins at Ibrox in October. However, like in Saturday’s friendly defeat, we have seen glimpses of the true monster that lives below the surface.
The Belgian was also booked for his protests during the Gers’ 2-1 loss to Celtic in the Old Firm derby at the end of December. But after the controversy that arose from that game, there is a wonder about how he was only cautioned.
There is no telling what a leaderless Rangers side could do in their upcoming fixtures, without Clement egging them on from the sidelines. Whether he would be allowed in the stands at the games, or forced to watch on TV from a hotel room, the communication is never the same as if he were just standing in the dugout.
However, the good news is that the Spanish FA have chosen not to pursue any punishment against him. After all, it was only a friendly in La Manga. But the defeat to a second-tier German side will be infuriating enough.
And Clement has likely not yet finished berating his players for the loss.
In other Rangers news, the club have made an approach to sign a player who now has to move this month.