Rangers have been handed a major blow in their quest for Champions League qualification after a four-match ban for Kemar Roofe was upheld by UEFA.
£3.5m summer signing Roofe was given the ban for a late challenge on Slavia Prague goalkeeper Ondrej Kolar which saw the player stretchered off with a fractured skull.
The high-boot challenge was certainly reckless and Roofe saw red at the time in a match which boiled over as two Gers were sent packing.
Leon Balogun would later join Roofe in the showers early before midfielder Glen Kamara was racially abused by Czech defender Ondrej Kudela.
Kudela, 33, was given a 10-match ban for the racist abuse whilst Finnish international Kamara was given a three-match ban for his reaction to the incident post-match.
Slavia continually pointed to the Kemar Roofe challenge in their post-match statements as they vehemently denied the racist abuse and criticised the Gers striker.
After UEFA upheld the ban, Kemar Roofe will miss all four of Rangers’ Champions League qualifying games with the club entering the tournament at the third qualifying round.
Steven Gerrard’s charges will play two legs at this stage before a Playoff round beckons where they could actually draw the Czech champions once again.
Should that happen Roofe will miss the clash in what is considered a major blow to Rangers who’ll also be without Glen Kamara for three of the four matches.
Another Ibrox star could miss Champions League qualification too as international duty beckons ahead of a summer tournament on the other side of the planet.
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