Beware The Career-Ending Hand Gestures

By: chris | April 3rd, 2009

The news that Scotland & Rangers duo Barry Ferguson and Allan McGregor were benched for a late night Dutch rendezvous with a couple of pints is really a non-starter. International suspensions due to boozed-up shenanigans are as much a part of the game as the ball, boots and Sepp Blatter’s shadow. The real news is that the duo didn’t take their punishment sitting down, spending much of the game against Iceland making the V-sign above. If Scotland didn’t like their previous antics, Rangers liked the second even less and have suspended and fined the duo for the maximum allowed while Scotland added a lifetime banishment to their Icelandic benching. I think this means club & country got along nicely?

Both Rangers and Scotland are coming down hard, particularly on Ferguson. Barry’s been stripped of his captaincies for club and country, told he will never represent his country again and will almost assuredly be sold by Rangers in the summer. And with a two week suspension on the books and the Scottish season having only sixteen days left in the bag, I think it’s safe to say Ferguson’s Rangers career is over as well. Quite the blow considering 12+ years of his career have been spent at the Ibrox and not exactly the honorable exit for which one would hope as a current member of the Rangers Hall of Fame.

McGregor seemingly gets off a little easier in comparison, as he bore no armbands to lose and at 27, still may have some time to work back into the good graces of the Scottish FA – particularly so being a goalie. But he’s also been told no more international football in the future and will have to find a new, non-Glasgow home in the summer. No small slap on the wrist there either.

And all because of a little ‘fuck you’ to the Scottish powers that be. Or a number of them. Very stupid, but a little harsh? Maybe. It’s not as though they pulled a Trezeguet and blatantly directed those gestures at the men who sign their checks (the big ones, at least).