The disciplinary process around the so-called Rangers Covid Five has been “concluded” but fans will need to wait until Monday to find out the official outcome of the situation.
SFA chiefs met at Hampden on Thursday this week to decide on the outcome of the case at a disciplinary hearing and the players will be eager to take their medicine and move on from the situation.
This means it will be over five weeks between the incident occurring and the SFA coming to a conclusion regarding the case.
In mid-February five Rangers players – including first-teamers Nathan Patterson, Calvin Bassey, and Bongani Zungu – were caught breaching lockdown rules to attend a house party.
Youth stars Brian Kinnear and Dapo Mebude were the other two Ibrox players involved in the high-profile breach.
The situation initially drew the ire of Rangers boss Steven Gerrard who said he’d been “let down” by the Covid Five who’d broken protocols amid a heavy schedule at Ibrox.
The fall-out over the breach was intensified by the fact two other Rangers players – George Edmundson and Jordan Jones – had breached guidelines to attend a party in November last year.
This resulted in a seven-match SFA ban for both players with Jones and Edmundson – who played a fringe role this season – sent out on loan to Sunderland and Derby respectively in January.
However, after a mandatory self-isolation period, the Covid Five would return to Rangers training and apologise publicly for their actions.
This was accepted by Rangers boss Gerrard and sporting director Ross Wilson who were eager to draw a line under the situation and move on [Rangers].
Since then, Rangers full-back Nathan Patterson has routinely deputised for injured captain James Tavernier, even scoring in the Europa League v Royal Antwerp.
Midfielder Bongani Zungu has continued to make a handful of substitute appearances – despite Steven Gerrard hinting his Ibrox career was in the balance – whilst Calvin Bassey hasn’t been seen since the 3-2 Betfred Cup defeat to St Mirren in December last year.
In other news, one new Rangers signing has jetted into Glasgow ahead of a move to Ibrox but a loan spell at a European club beckons for the player.
