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Belfast Live
Belfast Live
Sport
Darren Fullerton

Rangers to probe alleged spitting incident during Ballymena United cup tie

Rangers are set to investigate an alleged spitting incident involving Albanian winger Eros Grezda during Wednesday night’s Tunnock’s Cup tie with Ballymena United.

The Irish League outfit reacted angrily to the 24-year-old midway through the second half amid suggestions he spat at Sky Blues defender Andrew Burns.

Grezda, a £2m signing from Osijek 13 months ago, was lining out for Graeme Murty’s Colts side, who progressed to the next round with a 1-0 win at the Showgrounds.

A Rangers spokesperson said: “Whatever action the club deems necessary will be taken after investigating.”

After the ill-tempered tie, senior Rangers midfielder Greg Docherty - who wasn’t involved in the incident - said sorry to Ballymena boss David Jeffrey and his players .

Docherty asked to be shown to the home changing-room where he issued a short apology, a gesture that received a round of applause from Ballymena players and staff.

In his post-match interview, Jeffrey said: “There were things I don’t really want to talk about but we received an apology.

“Let’s just say there were incidents there that are not typical of association with Rangers and I’m saying absolutely nothing more than that.

“To be fair to Graeme Murty and Greg Docherty, who came in to apologise, that’s the matter closed as far as I’m concerned.”

Ballymena captain Jim Ervin was incensed following the incident which was one of several flash points in the second-half of a game won by a late goal from Serge Atayaki.

Grezda hasn’t played for Rangers since April and isn’t part of Steven Gerrard’s first team plans.

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