Ex-Rangers striker Kris Boyd has asked questions of those pundits who criticised Alfredo Morelos after Celtic striker Leigh Griffiths was filmed throwing an object at a Kilmarnock fan.
The former Ibrox goal scorer was speaking after Griffiths appeared to throw a ball of tape at a Kilmarnock fan after being substituted.
It is an offence which will almost surely see the striker receive a ban – despite the desperate grumbles of manager Neil Lennon – but Boyd wants those bemoaning Morelos to condemn it.
“Listen, I had it myself. If you’re a goalscorer, other teams hate you. That’s a fact,” said Boyd [Sky Sports live broadcast Kilmarnock v Celtic, post-match 22/01/10].
“But you can’t fall into the trap of getting involved.
“It will be interesting. I’ve listened to a lot of people over the last few weeks go on about Alfredo Morelos’ gesture – which was wrong, totally wrong.
“But it’ll be interesting to see if the same people have a go at Leigh Griffiths for that behaviour, because that’s not right either.
“You can’t throw stuff into the crowd, you can’t do it. For months and months we’ve spoken about fans throwing stuff at players from the stands.
“Players can’t react, you can’t do it. But that’s another side of the game that you need to work on. You need to be mentally strong enough to deal with people giving you stick.
“Not just punters, fans, the media as well. I used to love it. When somebody had a go at you, go and prove them wrong because there’s a talented footballer in there.
“When Brendan Rodgers arrived at the football club, it doesn’t seem to me that Leigh Griffiths has been able to pull his weight along with that and as I said the stats back it up in terms of games.”
Members of the Ibrox support have heaped praised on Boyd for standing up to the likes of Chris Sutton and John Hartson [Twitter].
Here’s what the club’s fans had to say on Twitter:
https://twitter.com/OnlyAnExcuse/status/1220111372492644352
https://twitter.com/OnlyAnExcuse/status/1220111372492644352
https://twitter.com/BornaPeg/status/1220108913141522432
https://twitter.com/andrewh1812/status/1220111811866963968
Naturally, Boydy has come under fire from our friends in the Eastend for his comments, but it’s highly unlikely to affect the former striker.
It’s not the first time his increased staunchness has been praised by the Rangers fans either.
The former Killie star earned the plaudits of fans for singing Bufalo Soldier to Andy Walker and for his coverage of the Ibrox club in recent weeks.
