Rangers striker Alfredo Morelos did his job on Wednesday evening as he joined Nikola Katic and Glenn Middleton on the scoresheet as we took a 4-0 victory over Ayr United in the Scottish League Cup and booked our place in the semi-finals of the competition.
Unfortunately, the 22-year-old’s enigma and frustrating status continues despite his goal on the evening as he also picked up a yellow card for another completely avoidable moment of red mist and he now misses the next fixture in the competition.
With the fanbase already torn on the now Colombian international, as fans can imagine, reacting to the game the response on social media was largely predictable.
Disagree on that one. UFA game he could have walked away, this time he was still on the deck, ref was hovering over him, he threw his hand up and ref booked him. Disgraceful refereeing.
— Aye Ready Podcast (@AyeReadyPod) September 26, 2018
Well played rangers tonight … Morelos stupid to get booked … Hazards goal is a thing of beauty best player in premier league
— Gman (@gspeirs1) September 26, 2018
Morelos was stupid, but how many of his cards come directly from wrong refereeing decisions? Most I'd guess. Not an excuse.
Madden was fine for part of the game then reverted to Scottish kick and rush refereeing. Farce.
— Borna 'Under A ????????' Barišić (@JonnyEasyOK) September 27, 2018
VERY soft booking to rule a player out of a semi final but when will Morelos learn? His petulance is beginning to get very frustrating and potentially costly. I’m sure his teammates won’t be happy with him missing another big game! https://t.co/8AVoMiAITk
— Douglas Kinnear (@Dougiek85) September 26, 2018
Great performance and could have been more.
Morelos daft booking and out of the semi is a big blow. Needs to cut those bookings out.
— James Whyte (@james_ws_whyte) September 26, 2018
having no out and out striker for the next round isn't ideal morelos with a daft daft booking could be costly
— Del boy (@dereks80) September 26, 2018
As much as the wee man frustrates me with daft bookings etc, the way Morelos is treated by officials in Scotland is nothing short of disgusting. It has to be a bad tackle for him to even get a free kick. No 50/50 decisions go his way. It’s no wonder the wee man gets frustrated
— David Kerr (@itstimefor55) September 26, 2018
He needs to calm down.
— Seahawks are not going to the playoffs (@CraigTF1) September 26, 2018
I can’t find fault with the comments and I agree, Morelos has got to stop giving the officials an excuse as he’s already developed a reputation in the game and it will cost us in the future. Arguably it’s already cost us even if he’s seen red cards overturned so far this campaign as we don’t get to offset being at a man’s disadvantage in the game itself. Get composure – and it should come with age – and he’ll be far better for it so he needs to use it as a learning curve and another teachable moment.