RANGERS goalkeeper Allan McGregor has stepped down from international duty after announcing his Scotland retirement last night. The 37-year-old, who was capped 42 times, said: "It’s a sad day for me to bring an end to my international career, but unfortunately I feel it is a decision I have to make."
McGregor may be unavailable for selection, but Celtic's Oli Burke and Sheffield Wednesday right back Liam Palmer have been named in Alex McLeish's squad for the upcoming Euro 2020 qualifying campaign.
David Hamilton, vice chair of the Scottish Police Federation, has warned that supporters risk being driven out of grounds by hooligans and reckons that Scottish club's are directly to blame for the alarming rise in fan misbehaviour in recent months. "If pubs and nightclubs allowed their clientele to behave the way football clubs do then they would be closed down until they got their act together," Hamilton said.
Rangers manager Steven Gerrard is confident Alfredo Morelos will learn his disciplinary lesson and not make the same mistake twice as he walks a suspension tightrope against Aberdeen tonight. "There was no one more frustrated in the last semi-final than Alfredo as he was sitting in the stand," revealed Gerrard. "Not being able to help his team-mates and the club he loves."
Meanwhile, Morelos has been named in Carlos Quieroz's Colombia squad for their upcoming friendly matches against South Korea and Japan.
Partick Thistle manager Gary Caldwell said that he hopes tonight's Scottish Cup quarter-final replay at Tynecastle will have a boisterous atmosphere, but that fans behave themselves. Caldwell said: "We hope that the fans come to support their team and there can be a bit of banter but once it crosses the line and becomes physical, that’s when it’s wrong."
Rangers midfielder Ryan Jack insists that he will remain focussed on the pitch at Ibrox tonight, despite the best efforts of the away support to distract him. "That just spurs me on," admitted Jack. "You have to relish that and accept that’s part of football and why I’m in the game."
Kilmarnock secured a long-awaited win in Paisley last night thanks to substitute Liam Millar's late winner for the visitors. Speaking after the game, Killie boss Steve Clarke said: "It was a good three points and I think we deserved it on the night."
Hearts manager Craig Levein insists football’s intolerance to the recent crowd disorder demonstrates how much progress has been made since the dark days of the 1970s and 80s. "Our tolerance for these things is now almost zero - and that’s a brilliant thing," said Levein.
Ross County striker Billy McKay is confident that his side will go on to lift the Championship trophy come the end of the season. "I’ve every faith in the lads," said McKay. "We’ve got a great squad here."
In rugby, The Herald's Kevin Ferrie has asked whether Kyle Stern's rapid promotion to the Scotland squad is indicative of the lack of development of Scottish players, and argues that questions must be asked of the proneness of Scottish players to injury.
Nick Rodger has focussed on the Players Championship in his latest column on the world of golf, and inists that the tournament is still one of the biggest events on the golfing calendar.
Elsewhere, the Scottish Sun are reporting that referee Steven McLean called Steven Gerrard to personally apologise for missing the foul that led to Hibernian's equaliser against Rangers on Friday night.
Former Rangers and Hearts winger David Templeton has told the Daily Record why he decided to leave Tynecastle in 2012 to sign for the Ibrox club, who were competing in the bottom tier at the time.
And Aberdeen boss Derek McInnes has hit out at the 'ridiculous way' English Championship clubs operate after West Brom sacked his old team-mate Darren Moore, according to the Press and Journal.
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