Jose Cifuentes might yet make the Rangers squad for the ViaPlay Cup Final against Aberdeen if Philippe Clement overturns his red card against Dundee.
Following a VAR review after a clash with Dundee attacker Amadou Bakayoko, the Ecuadorean international, 24, was given his marching orders by whistler Kevin Clancy.
Initially shown a yellow card for the incident, where Jose Cifuentes’s leg caught the striker after Bakayoko got the ball first, some fans have urged Rangers to appeal the decision.
Undoubtedly in the soft category, the situation has cast VAR into the spotlight with slow-motion replays often exaggerating incidents which look less serious in real-time.
Rangers are also decidedly short in the midfield area heading into what is a must-win ViaPlay Cup Final against Aberdeen, the club having not won the competition since 2011.
Philippe Clement hints at Jose Cifuentes appeal
Speaking after Rangers’ eventual 3-1 victory over Dundee, manager Philippe Clement suggested he was considering lodging an appeal over the Jose Cifuentes red card.
Whilst it remains unclear if any appeal would free the Ecuadorean up for the Hampden ViaPlay Cup Final clash as the authorities mull over a decision, naturally a successful appeal would see Jose Cifuentes available for the game.
The Rangers manager was coy on the situation after the win at Ibrox with a final decision set to be made imminently.
“I haven’t seen it back,” said Clement, speaking directly after the Scottish Premiership victory. “What Jose (Cifuentes) told me is he loses the ball and wants to win it back.
“He wants to block the ball but the other guy is a split second faster and he tackles through the ball and like this there’s a contact but he tried to block and avoid the contact.
“He didn’t go through it when he saw was coming in that split second so close, so I want to see things back to have a clear and good opinion.
“We’re going to make an assessment the next days about that.”
Rangers face midfield injury dilemma
With Jose Cifuentes’s status in the League Cup Final very much up in the air, Rangers and Philippe Clement would do well to consider an appeal.
The Ibrox club are facing something of an injury crisis in the middle of the park with several first-team stars ruled out in the last few weeks.
Ryan Jack – who is embroiled in a debate over his Scotland future – has been injured since the last international break.
Nicolas Raskin remains a long-term absentee whilst Tom Lawrence has joined him in recent weeks and Kieran Dowell remains out of the picture under Philippe Clement.
Ibrox utility man Dujon Sterling has when called upon and did so again after stepping into midfield for 10-man Rangers against Dundee.
It leaves the club without many options ahead of a tough run-in and if any potential Jose Cifuentes appeal was successful it would certainly relieve some pressure on a stretched squad.
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