Glasgow Rangers suspends two Nigerian players for attending party in defiance of lockdown restrictions

SCOTTISH Premier league giants Glasgow Rangers have suspended Nigerian players of Calvin Bassey and Dapo Mebude for violating coronavirus rules after they attended a party in defiance of national lockdown rules.

Left fullback Bassey, 21 joined Rangers last summer from Leicester City and has gone on to make 13 appearances for the first team. Striker Mebude, 19,  is one of the standout players in the Rangers academy and is spending the second half of the season on loan at Scottish Championship club Queen of the South.

Both players have been suspended by Rangers manager Steven Gerrard along with team mates Bongani Zungi, Nathan Patterson and Brian Kinnear for attending a party. Mr Gerrard revealed that the players will be fined and removed from the first team squad.

Mr Gerrard added: "First and foremost we have to acknowledge that five of our players have been involved in a breach of the Covid regulations, which, from the top of the club to the bottom, we're all really disappointed in. That will be dealt with internally, the players will be fined and we are in dialogue with the Scottish Football Association and the government moving forward to find the solution in terms of those boys."

"Bongani Zungu is involved, as is Nathan Patterson, Calvin Bassey and Dapo Mebude who is part of the academy and is on loan at Queen of the South at the moment. Also involved is a young goalie who is in the academy but has spent some time in the first team at the moment, Brian Kinnear."

Apart from Bassey and Mebude, other Nigerian players at Rangers include Joe Aribo and Leon Balogun. Neither of these senior players were involved, however, as the party appeared to be a fathering of youngsters.