Alfredo Morelos accused of disrespecting Michael Beale by former Rangers star

Alfredo Morelos has been accused of disrespecting Rangers manager Michael Beale with his indignant reaction to being substituted in Sunday’s Viaplay Cup final.

The Colombian striker was replaced by Antonio Colak just 10 minutes after scoring to bring Rangers back in the match midway through the second half after Kyogo Furuhashi’s double had given Celtic a 2-0 lead at Hampden Park.

TV cameras captured Morelos angrily kicking out at water bottles as he made his way off the pitch, and former Ibrox midfielder Charlie Adam felt his actions showed a lack of respect towards his manager and colleagues.

“Morelos was obviously frustrated because he’d just scored a goal and five minutes later he gets taken off,” Adam said. “I also think it’s disrespectful to his team-mates. He’s on a worldwide stage with a lot of people watch and it doesn’t look good. It’s not good for the team or the culture within the group.

Rangers striker Alfredo Morelos cuts an animated figure during the Viaplay Cup final defeat to Celtic. (Photo by Paul Devlin / SNS Group)

“Overall I don’t like it. It’s a tough one but I think it’s disrespectful to Michael Beale and Antonio Colak. Alfredo has been a fantastic player for Rangers with the goals he’s scored and I understand his frustration.”

Adam, speaking to Ice 36, also backed Beale to learn from the experience of suffering his first defeat as Rangers boss, suggesting the Englishman will be looking back and questioning his team selection and tactics.

"Michael will learn a lot about the players he has with him next season,” Adam added. “Where the mindset of the squad is at and he’ll look to see who has enough character about them to bounce back from the defeat.

“Beale will also learn a lot about himself. He’ll be wondering whether he made the right decisions, make the right substitutions. ‘Should I have started with Todd Cantwell?’ These are all questions that will be going through his mind.

“There’s no doubt he’ll regroup with his squad and go again for the next Old Firm game.

"At the end of the day, you look at what's inside your own club. And on the day Rangers didn’t manage to perform to the levels they know they're capable of. Celtic deserved to win the cup final and Rangers need to move on quickly because the next game is coming up very soon.”