'OUT THE WINDOW'

Rangers vs Celtic: Ex-Hoops ace Stephen Crainey accuses Gers of lack of sportsmanship

EX-CELTIC ace Stephen Crainey has accused Rangers of a lack of sportsmanship during yesterday's Betfred Cup Final.

The former Hoops left-back - now Fleetwood Town’s U-23 coach - took a swipe at Steven Gerrard’s Light Blues over a controversial second-half incident.

Celts kicked the ball out of play after an injury to match winner Christopher Jullien, who hit the deck when Alfredo Morelos raked his studs down his achilles.

But Gers refused to give it back to their Old Firm rivals, leaving Neil Lennon’s Hoops stars fuming.

Crainey also reckoned the Rangers players should have applauded Celts as they climbed the steps at Hampden to lift the trophy.

Writing on Twitter after his former club’s 1-0 victory, he said: “Sportsmanship right out the window today, not giving ball back and not staying to clap!!

“Based on that alone @CelticFC deserved to win, Boooom 👊🏻🍀🏆.”

We told earlier how Scott Brown and Scott Arfield exchanged words during the pre-match handshakes as the mind games got off to an early start.

BT Sport cameras captured the needle, with the Hoops captain responding to a comment from his midfield rival.

Gers had several chances to win the match but Hoops goalie Fraser Forster turned in a man-of-the-match display, denying Morelos on several occasions.

And the Colombian international also watched his second-half penalty saved by the on-loan Southampton star.

Rangers legend Ally McCoist later claimed Morelos didn’t think he would score from the spot.

BT Sport pundit Coisty - the club’s all-time record goalscorer - said: “That split second before he [Morelos] hits it, you can see he just doesn’t believe it.

“I was sitting here ready to have a go [at Tavernier], but as soon as Steven Gerrard said he was the designated penalty taker, you’ve got to back off and respect that.”

After the game, Gerrard insisted Jullien’s winner shouldn’t have counted as a trio of Celtic stars were offside.

He said: “There were three Celtic players standing in offside positions but unfortunately we play in a country where there is no VAR.

“Look, I’m not going to sit here and make excuses. I’m not the type of person who blames or look for excuses.

“The big moments have gone against us today, we are all responsible for that.

“But the reality is, at the top end of football, you expect the linesman to get one of them right from the three who were in an offside position.”

Asked if VAR should be introduced into Scottish football, Gerrard added: “I think it has taken something away from the game, so I’d be a liar if I said I’m 100 percent in favour of it.

“But one thing I do know is that the officials up here do need some support and help.

“Because there are too many things, not just for our club but across the board, that they maybe miss and need a bit of support on.”