ALLY MCCOIST has admitted he was surprised at the decision to refuse Chris Sutton and Neil Lennon access to Ibrox.

The Rangers hero was left confused by the refusal of entry for the ex-Celtic pair who were scheduled to be working covering the Europa League matches.

But both were denied entry over security concerns forcing BT Sport to alter their coverage.

Pundit Sutton has been vocal in his criticism of the decision and tonight accused Rangers of 'Trumpism'.

And McCoist, responding to Sutton on BT Sport's Scottish Football Extra show, agreed with his colleague's claim that a "dangeorus" precedent is being set.

Fearing for freedom of speech, after Sutton's claim he wasn't allowed in because of things he's said about Rangers, McCoist said: "I found it very, very surprising. When I arrived at Ibrox I was expecting to see Chris and Neil.

"I think we are going down a dangerous route if we're stopping freedom of speech. We turn into Beijing, we turn into Moscow.

"I'm just keeping my fingers crossed that everything can be resolved, hopefully very, very soon."

A Rangers statement last night insisted the club had followed all protocols and worked with BT Sport to fulfil their "contractual obligations".

It read: "We have complied with all UEFA contractual obligations to facilitate BT as host broadcaster."

A BT Sport statement read: "We had hoped that Darrell Currie and the team would be able to present the coverage of both the Celtic and Rangers UEFA Europa League games live from Ibrox this evening, as we have done in the past.

"Rangers have since raised security concerns and so we have had to change our plans."