Former Celtic star John Collins has slammed Rangers for "playing the system" in their appeal over the club's five Covid rule-breakers.
First-team stars Nathan Patterson, Bongani Zungu and Calvin Bassey face a six-game ban at the hands of the SFA for attending a party in lockdown, as do on-loan pair Dapo Mebude and Brian Kinnear.
Steven Gerrard indicated he would appeal when the charge for the February infringement was handed out.
And that hearing will be heard on April 20 - two days after the Scottish Cup meeting between the champions and their arch-rivals Celtic.
Collins reckons deep down the appeal is simply an underhand tactic to ensure Patterson does not miss vital matches while captain and first choice right-back James Tavernier is out injured.
He told BBC Sportsound: "In my opinion, they've used the system.
"Tavernier is out, injured, their only real right-back is the young lad, so they've played the system.
"They've tried to delay the process, well they have delayed the process, which meant they had a right-back available for the last Old Firm game.
"They're going to have a right-back available on Sunday. So it's worked.
"The SFA, once again, their system is flawed. The process should have been much quicker and the question should have been asked straight away, 'why are you appealing something that you're not going to win?'
"He's broken the rules, they've broken the rules."
