Ryan Kent has been hit with a two-game ban for belting Scott Brown – after Steven Gerrard accused Celtic of playing the victim card with their skipper.
The Gers winger was slapped with a violent conduct charge from the SFA compliance officer for lashing out at the Hoops captain in Sunday’s Old Firm showdown.
Alfredo Morelos will serve a four-game suspension after his red card for elbowing Brown – while Andy Halliday is also banned for tonight’s Hearts game at Ibrox for clashing with the Parkhead star.
Kent could be free to face the Jambos if Gers decide to launch an appeal by Wednseday’s 3pm deadline, with the hearing pencilled in for Thursday at Hampden.
Gerrard hopes to draw a line under the disputes with Brown. The Celtic enforcer was accused of winding up rivals during the match and could be in bother for his celebrations after the final whistle, while he also riled Gers fans on social media in the aftermath.
And the Ibrox boss urged his men to store away the jibes as motivation for the next Old Firm clash in Govan.
Gerrard said: “Neil Lennon will say what Neil Lennon wants to say. His assistant will say whatever he wants to say.
“If they want to play the victim card, that’s up to them.
“Celtic are entitled to celebrate – the supporters, the club and the individual players. That’s fine. We haven’t got a problem with that at all. We’re on the end of it this time.
“There’s one more Old Firm left we’re looking forward to and we need to make sure the result is different to the one we’ve just been involved in.
“I’ve got no problem with Celtic celebrating. How will the players react? I know what I’d do.
“We can’t really control what’s going on with other people’s reactions on social media and how they celebrate. All we can do is soak it up, accept it and move on to the next challenge – but remember it.”
Gerrard’s squad has been hit by injuries and suspensions but he hinted Lee Wallace could come in from the cold.
He said: “Of course he’s an option. He’s one of us. He’s training. I’ll make that decision in the next couple of hours.”
Gers have failed to win in five games on the spin and Gerrard is well aware it cannot go to six against Hearts at Ibrox tonight.
He added: “I’m aware of that and the players will be aware of it. I’d like to see the players put in a performance for the supporters. The learning curve for all of the team is you have to play with control.
“We still want them to play with freedom, find their best individual performance and reach a level that’s going to help us get wins but you have to play with emotional control.”
