Borna Barisic was hooked in the second half as Rangers suffered a damaging 3-2 defeat against Ross County and simply shook Philippe Clement’s hand as he went off.
Barisic was one of four changes to the side that drew 3-3 with Celtic at Ibrox in the Old Firm derby on 7 April but produced a poor performance and was replaced by Dujon Sterling – the man whose starting spot he took – just nine minutes into the second half.
Fabio Silva was also substituted at the same time for Rabbi Matondo – who scored the dramatic equaliser in the derby – and the on-loan Wolves forward made no attempt to hide his frustration at being taken off.
BBC Sport shared on their live blog of the game: “Dujon Sterling and Rabbi Matondo are stripped and ready to come on. Fabio Silva is off and he’s furiously muttering to himself as he’s hooked, tearing the tape off his wristbands like a stroppy teenager.
“Borna Barisic is also hooked. He just shakes Philippe Clement’s hand.”
Borna Barisic woeful in damaging Rangers defeat
Barisic is thought to be on his way out of Ibrox at the end of the season, with Turkish side Trabzonspor reportedly interested in securing his services on a free transfer when the left-back’s contract expires this summer.
On this evidence, it is little wonder that Clement and Rangers are happy to allow the 31-year-old to leave for nothing.
He was a liability defensively, failing to stop crosses from his flank and has deservedly dropped to third place in the left-back pecking order behind Ridvan Yilmaz and the versatile Sterling.
That he started at all in this game is a decision Clement will likely already be rueing – and it may not be a mistake the Belgian makes again for the remainder of the campaign.
The defeat leaves the Gers four points behind Celtic with a game in hand and puts their title hopes in jeopardy – they are now reliant on a slip-up from their rivals if they are to claim the Scottish Premiership crown.
Furthermore, failure to lift the league title would mean an opportunity missed to claim a domestic treble, with the Scottish League Cup already won and a Scottish FA Cup semi-final against Hearts to come.
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