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Rangers defender Bruno Alves loses two-match ban appeal after Louis Moult incident

Bruno Alves in action for Rangers

Rangers defender Bruno Alves has lost his appeal against a two-match ban following a clash with Motherwell striker Louis Moult.

The Portugal international will now miss the Premiership encounter with Hearts at Murrayfield on Saturday, live on Sky Sports. The second part of his suspension applies to next season's Betfred Cup.

Alves and Moult clashed after competing for a high ball during Rangers' 2-0 defeat in the Betfred Cup semi-final at Hampden on Sunday.

Bruno Alves (centre) had a running battle with Louis Moult  (left) all afternoon
Image: Bruno Alves (centre) had a running battle with Louis Moult (left) all afternoon

The incident sparked a melee and Eduardo Herrera and Moult were both booked after the Rangers striker pushed Motherwell's double goalscorer to the ground.

Former Porto defender Alves was the only player to face retrospective action after a physical encounter which saw Fabio Cardoso suffer a broken nose after being struck by Ryan Bowman's elbow at a high ball.

Moult needed stitches above his eye after a similar incident involving Cardoso earlier in the game.

Rangers' Fabio Cardoso and his bloodied nose at Hampden Park
Image: Rangers' Fabio Cardoso and his bloodied nose at Hampden Park

Both were missed by referee Steven McLean but were deemed to be "reckless" by Scottish Football Association compliance officer Tony McGlennan. Only excessive instances of violent conduct or serious foul play can spark a notice of complaint.

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Rangers described the decision to punish Alves alone as "inexplicable" in a lengthy and scathing statement on Tuesday but a disciplinary panel convened by the SFA ruled against their appeal on Thursday.

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