THE Scottish FA Compliance Officer has failed in his bid to have Steve Simonsen's ban for breaching betting rules increased.

Tony McGlennan appealed the original suspension handed to the Rangers keeper last year, claiming that it was 'unduly lenient'.

The 35-year-old was found guilty of placing bets on a total of 55 matches between January 15, 2014 and January 13, 2015 and was handed a one match ban, with a further one match suspended until the end of the season.

After a hearing on Wednesday, Simonsen's representatives Pro Legal Group tweeted: 'SFA Appeal against Steve Simonsen suspension fails'.

Simonsen has made 28 appearances for Rangers this term but has not played since the 2-1 Scottish Cup defeat to Raith Rovers as he has fallen behind Cammy Bell and Lee Robinson in the Ibrox pecking order.