Rangers riled by Celtic Ryan Naderi challenge as unnamed player emerges as doubt for Old Firm clash

Rangers have contacted the Scottish Football Association to register their surprise that a tackle from Mika Baur on Ryan Naderi that has left the Rangers striker a doubt for this weekend’s Old Firm rematch was not reviewed by VAR.

In fact, the second-half challenge in question, which saw Baur catch Naderi on his shin, was deemed a free-kick to Celtic by referee Nick Walsh.

Ibrox manager Derek McInnes described Naderi’s lower leg as “a mess” following the controversial incident during Rangers' emphatic 3-0 win in the Premier Sports Cup quarter-final. The VAR team, led by Andrew Dallas, chose not to intervene.

Ryan Naderi came off during Rangers' 3-0 win over Celtic. | SNS Group

McInnes has not personally sought an explanation from the SFA but revealed that Rangers chief executive Jim Gillespie had been proactive on that front.

“Well, I haven't, but the club have,” he said. “Jim Gillespie spoke to (head of refereeing) Willie Collum in the SFA about it. I'm really not happy with the challenge, but I'm not going to get caught up in referee chat.

“But I'm surprised that the referee wasn't asked to look at that. I find it strange that he wasn't. Ryan's ankle's a mess. It was a mess. It was a poor challenge. Sometimes these challenges can happen, but it didn't look great, to be honest. Ryan is one of two players who's a wee bit of doubt for the game on Sunday. I don't want to get bogged down in referee chat, to be honest.”

Although Naderi is an obvious doubt, McInnes has not named the other player facing a fitness test before Sunday’s league clash at Celtic Park.

The Ibrox manager admitted that the physically imposing Naderi’s absence would leave him in a slight bind in terms of tactics. “We don't really have another like for like but we'll give him every chance,” said McInnes. “We've had to cope without key players before. Hopefully he can make it but if he doesn't that will be somebody else's opportunity.”

Full-back Tuur Rommens, who has not played since injuring his groin against Hibs last month, has, however, returned to training.

“Tuur trained today and we'll see how he is,” he said. “ Obviously he's been out a decent length of time, not sure exactly since the Hibs game. So we'll see how he is, but he certainly looked okay today. We'll just assess that one with the physios. We've got another unnamed player, that I would rather not say, that is a doubt. And Ryan hasn't trained today but we are hoping he might train tomorrow.”

Due to a ticket allocation spat which saw the authorities step in, there were only Gers fans inside Ibrox last week. This Sunday, there will only be Hoops supporters in the 60,000-capacity Celtic Park, although they were less than impressed with the 3-1 defeat to Hungarian side Ferencvaros in their Europa League opener on Thursday night.

McInnes added: “I think sometimes, again, all that can be a wee bit overhyped and too much chat about it. The game’s a game. I think once the ball rolls it’s a game of football that we need to concentrate on, the detail in and out of possession, what we’re looking to try and do.

“Yes, the support, regardless, it’s always going to be the vast majority of Celtic anyway. So from that side, I think even if there were some Rangers fans in, you’re still trying to go there and try to keep a lid on things by performing well. It’s the only way you can really do that. I think for the players, we just need to go there with a mindset that we’re there to bring a performance to win the game.”