James Tavernier was left out of the starting eleven as Rangers played host to Hibernian at Ibrox on Wednesday night.
Dujon Sterling was given a start as the Light Blues lost their fourth game in a row, with the score 2-1 at full-time.
Martin Boyle opened the scoring for Hibs, and Thelo Aasgaard equalised for the hosts before half-time, but it wasn’t enough as Dane Scarlett scored an 89th-minute winner for the visitors.
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James Tavernier left Ibrox after hearing he was not starting vs Hibs
Ibrox insider Stevie Clifford, who runs the Four Lads Had a Dream blog, revealed that Tavernier was upset after learning that Danny Rohl had not included him in the playing eleven.
This was the English right-back’s last match ever for the club at Ibrox and he was expecting to be named in the starting eleven.
The plan, it has been revealed, was to bring him on in the second half, but this did not sit well with him and he left Ibrox leading up to the game.
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Due to this, Rohl had to include another player in the squad, and it looked like Tavernier would not get his farewell.
However, someone at the club managed to convince him to return and Sky Sports then shared footage of his farewell.
Explaining the incident, Clifford revealed on X: “James Tavernier was not starting tonight, coming on from the bench at some point being the plan.
“Tav was upset at this, and has withdrawn from the squad and understand he is not currently at Ibrox.
“The club were due to make a presentation tonight which they remain open to doing so.”
Why this incident will worsen the relationship between Rangers fans and Danny Rohl
The relationship between the fanbase and Rohl has already been iffy over the past few weeks, and this certainly would have made things worse.
The only thing after a disastrous few weeks that the fans were looking forward to was Tavernier’s farewell.
The 34-year-old has been with the club through thick and thin and captained them when they won the Scottish Premiership under Steven Gerrard’s stewardship.
Despite being criticised by supporters and pundits alike, he showed up and put in performances time and again to silence the critics.
Rohl could have included him in the playing eleven and then taken him off in the second half to a standing ovation.
This only made things worse, and it remains to be seen if and how he can ever win back the Ibrox faithful.
