SCOTT Arfield, the Rangers midfielder, has defended Alan Power, his Kilmarnock counterpart, over the incident that left his team mate requiring medical attention at Rugby Park on Saturday night.
Power kicked Jack in the head as he challenged for the ball in the air in the first-half of the William Hill Scottish Cup fifth round tie and the Scotland internationalist was floored for several minutes as a result.
Referee Alan Muir only showed the offending player a yellow card and Steven Gerrard, the Rangers manager, admitted afterwards that he will be interested to see if the SFA compliance officer takes retrospective disciplinary action.
Allan McGregor, the Ibrox goalkeeper, has appealed against the two game ban he was offered on Friday for a challenge on Lewis Ferguson, the Aberdeen midfielder, at Pittodrie last Wednesday.
However, Arfield felt there was no malice in the Power challenge. “I think he goes for the ball to be fair to him,” he said. “I think he catches Jacko and gets a yellow card. I don’t think he tries to take Jacko’s face off. It’s just an incident where Jacko is brave and puts his head there for the club and the team.”
Meanwhile, the Canadian internationalist has insisted he isn’t concerned by the number of players who have been banned retrospectively for fouls this season.
“It is what it is,” he said. “They have the panel there and a compliance officer who makes the decision at the end of the day.
“We can’t affect it. Greegsy and the boy at Hibs (Darnell Johnson) have been cited and I think they are going to appeal it as well. But it is what it is. It’s one of those things and you just need to get on with it.
“I don’t really take much notice of it. I’ve missed games this season because of the Hearts incident. It is one of those things and you can’t change it. It’s like a decision a referee makes on a Saturday. You can’t change it.
“I don’t take much notice of it. If you are missing games for people making decisions then you are never going to change that decision. It is what it is. I think you just need to get on with it.”
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