Rangers dressing room gesture slammed by Hearts after Sky Sports Cup final win at Tynecastle
Hearts have released a statement demanding answers from Rangers following the SWPL Cup Final win over Partick Thistle at Tynecastle on Sunday (24 March).
Rangers Women were convincing 4-1 winners at the home of Hearts as they retained the trophy, which is also known as the Sky Sports Cup.
However, images from the Rangers dressing room caused controversy as the Hearts badge was covered up with a smaller Rangers crest.
Some suggested it was a sign of disrespect, and Hearts appeared to agree in a statement released later on Sunday (24 March).
The statement via the club’s X account read: “Heart of Midlothian Football Club is aware of images circulating of the Tynecastle Park home dressing room at today’s Sky Sports Cup Final.
“Although the club hands over the running of the stadium on the day to the competition organisers – the SWPL – we were involved with pre-match planning.
“We would therefore like to assure our supporters that we did not approve any request for dressing room branding in either dressing room for either club involved.
“It is extremely disappointing to learn that our wishes were disregarded. How this came to be is a matter for the SWPL and Rangers to sort, but needless to say no explanation will be satisfactory in our eyes or the eyes of our fans.
“Nevertheless, we will demand answers to ensure that our club crest is never defaced again. It is also regrettable that this action has taken away the focus from what was a successful cup final and another opportunity to grow women’s football in Scotland.”
Rangers victory in Sky Sports Cup final overshadowed
The victory over Partick Thistle was well deserved and was just reward for the women’s side.
Mia McAulay, Rachel Rowe and Rio Hardy had the Gers 3-1 up at the interval and a fourth goal arrived via Liv McLoughlin.
It sparked scenes of celebration after the match, which would have continued into the dressing room.
Little did they know that the decision to stick a Rangers badge on top of the Hearts one would cause so much controversy.
The issue is seemingly because the job was done so shoddily. Had the Rangers logo completely covered the Hearts one, this surely would not have been an issue.
Tynecastle was used as a neutral venue, but that cannot stop teams from personalising the dressing rooms, just like they would at Hampden Park.
This is likely a complaint that will result in some sort of apology from Rangers – if one was even needed – and it will soon all be forgotten about.
Rangers Women’s cup triumph, though, will live far longer in the memory.
In other Rangers news, a player’s international snub is now looking even more ridiculous after news that emerged on Sunday (24 March).
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