It was all smiles as Ianis Hagi made his return to the Rangers fold in the Scottish Premiership win over St Johnstone.
But it ended in tears as Hagi was shown red for a ‘leg-breaker’ on St Johnstone star Benjamin Kimpioka.
There’s been plenty written about Hagi’s situation at Ibrox, which resulted in the Romanian international playing for the Rangers B team until a contractual issue was resolved.
And it was almost a perfect return as Hagi set up Vaclav Cerny for Rangers’ second goal of the game in the 2-0 victory over the Saints.
But whilst the return of Ianis Hagi has now stuttered, Rangers fans have been hailing the midfielder on social media after his first game for the club in almost 14 months.
Rangers fans react to ‘box office’ Ianis Hagi
There have been calls from within the Rangers support to reinstate Ianis Hagi after his bright showings for the club’s B team.
The Rangers team’s stuttering form and frayed relationship with the supporters has also heaped the pressure on the club to resolve the issues which had prevented the 25-year-old from playing.
Hagi had a contract clause which would initiate a payrise at Rangers when he played his 100th game, which he did against St Johnstone on Sunday evening.
Rangers captain James Tavernier lauded the fans for the reception Hagi received and here’s how fans reacted to the player’s return on social media platform X.
One Rangers fan said he was ‘so happy to see Hagi back’ whilst another added ‘the GOAT is back’.
One supporter hailed the club for listening to fans with regards the Romanian, simply saying ‘they have listened’.
But naturally it was Ianis Hagi’s red card which turned the most heads on social media, with Rangers fans reacting to the incident in hilarious fashion.
Describing Hagi’s appearance as ‘box office’ and ‘absolute cinema’, here’s a selection of the best reactions to the Romanian’s return.
Philippe Clement on Ianis Hagi red card
Whilst plenty will feel sorry for Ianis Hagi being red carded on his return to Rangers duties, it’s hard to argue against the decision.
The Romanian was high and late on Kimpioka and VAR were correct to intervene and have the decision upgraded from a yellow.
At least that’s the opinion of Rangers manager Philippe Clement, who said as much come the final whistle.
“No (complaints),” Clement told Sky Sports. “OK, the moment itself I didn’t have a feeling it was a really big thing.
“There was no intensity in the action but if you see it on the screen, yeah he touches the player too high on the shin.
“So in that way you cannot complain about the red card.
“It’s not an action with a lot of intensity. It’s more clumsy for a player who was getting more tired legs.
“So that’s normal for a player where he is at the moment and we’re going to work hard with him to get him back to his best level.”
