Rangers players Nathan Patterson, Bongani Zungu, Calvin Bassey, Brian Kinnear and Dapo Mebude were banned by the Scottish FA; quintet were fined by club after attending house party in breach of the rules and charged last month; Rangers appealed the ban last Friday
Thursday 8 April 2021 20:36, UK
The SFA has confirmed the hearing date for Rangers' appeal over the bans issued to five players for breaking lockdown rules will be on April 20.
It means first-team trio Nathan Patterson, Bongani Zungu and Calvin Bassey will be free to face Celtic in the Scottish Cup fourth round at Ibrox three days earlier.
Rangers appealed the ban last Friday after the players, alongside academy youngsters Brian Kinnear and Dapo Mebude, who is on loan at Queen of the South, were charged by the SFA.
The quintet were handed a six-game ban, two of which were suspended until the end of the season, for attending a house party in Glasgow in February.
They had already been the subject of an internal investigation by the Ibrox club and fined following the incident.
Rangers boss Steven Gerrard revealed the players had been told in "no uncertain terms" about what was expected of them after they were allowed to rejoin his squad following a period of self-isolation.
Last year Rangers accepted seven-game bans handed to attacker Jordan Jones and defender George Edmundson by the SFA for Covid-19 related breaches.
The pair attended a party after their side's 1-0 Scottish Premiership win against Kilmarnock on November 1 - and subsequently, Jones and Edmundson moved on loan to Sunderland and Derby County respectively.
