Rangers must issue a heavy fine to Hamza Igamane if he turns out to not be injured despite refusing to play.
That’s according to Gers legend Ally McCoist, who has raised doubt on a situation that has only added to the club’s problems this season.
After their 1-1 draw against St Mirren on Sunday, Rangers boss Russell Martin revealed that substitute Igamane claimed he was injured.
“Hamza told me he was injured,” he said. “So, we had a bid for Hamza this week, we rejected it, and all was fine.”
Martin was then asked if Igamane was ‘effectively refusing to play’ for Rangers, and replied: “I don’t know. I have to trust him, but we’ll see.”
The controversy has come at a time where Rangers are winless in the Scottish Premiership after three matches this season.
And speaking on talkSPORT Breakfast, McCoist believes it would be a ‘diabolical’ situation if Igamane was actually fit to play.
“I just wonder, is that what you get if you call the players out as early as Russell Martin did when he first arrived?” asked Jeff Stelling.
“I don’t think so Jeff,” McCoist said. “I actually don’t think it’s really anything to do with that. I might be wrong and you might be right, and you’re certainly right to ask the question.
“I think the lad wants away regardless of Russell Martin’s approach to his job, to be honest with you. It’s a tough one, because we’ve all got an opinion on it but effectively, we don’t know, right?
“If he says he’s injured himself in the warm-up, there’s not a lot you can do about it, right? I find it very, very strange, at that particular time.
“But I’m talking to you as a man that has effectively injured himself in a warm-up of a cup final [1996 Scottish Cup final, Rangers 5-1 Hearts] and had to pull out, so it can happen, right? It can happen.
“But, there’s just something not right about it. If he’s not injured, you fine him as much as you possibly can, and they’re in a position now.
“I don’t want to contradict myself regarding the [Alexander] Isak situation [at Newcastle], but it’s appalling…
“If he is fit to play and he said, ‘No, I’m injured, I’m not going on’, then that’s diabolical, to tell you the truth, it’s absolutely diabolical. But it’s a very, very difficult thing to prove, right?
“Now, I don’t… The bottom line is Jeff, I don’t know. The lad might have injured himself in the warm-up and if that’s the case, as I said I’ve done it myself, so it is possible… But, you can tell he wants away.”
McCoist on Martin’s future at Rangers
Martin was appointed as the new Rangers head coach in June but is already under pressure at Ibrox.
With three draws in the Scottish Premiership, the 55-time Scottish champions are seventh in the table.
Rangers next face Club Brugge in the second leg of their Champions League play-off round tie, in which they trail 3-1 on aggregate.
And then they host bitter rivals Celtic in the latest Old Firm derby on Sunday, where defeat would create a nine-point gap between them.
“Oh it’s getting to thin ice, of course it is, there’s no doubt about it Jeff, absolutely no doubt about it,” McCoist said on Martin’s future.
“I mean, the first thing I’ve got to say, and I’ve got to be honest again, St Mirren more than deserved a point, they played really, really well. But that wasn’t a surprise, that side of it wasn’t a surprise.
“You and I have spoken before, Stephen Robinson is doing a fabulous job at St Mirren, difficult place to go at the best of times, he’s got them well-organised.
“But you’re asking me to comment on Rangers, Rangers look soft pal, look really soft, they look weak physically, they look weak mentally, they’ve got nothing about them.
“There’s problems there, big, big problems, and there’s a lot of it not Russell Martin’s fault. However, we know where the buck stops, as always, it will stop at the manager’s door, right?
“But there’s a lot of the problems [that are] not his fault. Some of them, well, all of them he’s going to have to deal with. Whether he can do it quickly enough, time will tell. I hope he does.”