Rangers Euro rivals Royal Antwerp have taken the time to applaud Ibrox striker Alfredo Morelos for his sportsmanship after their clash with the Gers at Ibrox.
Morelos, 24, was the Man of the Match on the night and once again stole the show with a complete striker’s performance worthy of all the plaudits he’s since received.
But in the first half the striker halted play whilst bearing down on goal after Antwerp defender Jeremy Gelin pulled up with a hamstring knock.
It might’ve stopped Rangers’ momentum – much to the frustration of Connor Goldson – but the Colombian has since been resoundingly lauded for his sportsmanship.
Belgian striker Romelu Lukaku praised the forward on Twitter and Royal Antwerp also took to their official account to thank the striker.
“One can only admire Alfredo Morelos’ sportsmanship last night,” reads the tweet, with an image of the striker assisting goalkeeper Ortwin de Wolf.
This is in stark contrast to the kind of coverage Morelos receives in Scotland and probably has some old hacks and rival fans pretty peeved off.
The striker is positioned as some kind of malevolent force in Scotland in certain media circles with the player routinely retrospectively banned for largely nothing incidents.
It’s happened twice this season but not only did Morelos show another side of his game with his sporting gestures the striker also showed how good a player he is.
All the negative coverage in Scotland takes away from the immense talent of the forward and it’s to the country’s discredit that one of the nation’s best players is routinely sent to the stands via witch hunt.
It’s no surprise that when you take the forward out of Scotland suddenly he begins to get the recognition and respect that he deserves and Morelos deserves credit for sticking with this often narrow-minded nation for so long.
Here’s more on that Lukaku tweet as Morelos caught the attention of players and clubs across the continent with his performance at Ibrox.
