BBC NEWS; Clement reveals Dessers apology after ’emotional’ Rangers sub reaction.

 

Philippe Clement has claimed that Cyriel Dessers apologised to him after heading straight up the tunnel after he was substituted in Rangers’ victory against FCSB. The Ibrox striker was noticeably emotional as he limped off the pitch and into the dressing room after being replaced in the second half. Clement confessed he was caught off guard by Dessers’ antics, but argued the striker needed to be substituted because he had lost vision after receiving a finger to the eye during the Europa League match.

Clement did admit, however, that it would have been preferable for Dessers to go down on the pitch to allow for adequate substitution preparation, with Hamza Igamane rushing to replace Dessers. When asked if he was startled by Dessers’ reaction, Clement replied, “Yes, entirely. He apologised for that. “He was quite emotional. He was hungry to score and play well for his side. “He took a blow in the eye and lost his vision. He couldn’t see anything anymore or had insufficient vision to play, therefore he was emotional at the time because he didn’t want to come off. But he couldn’t play.

“Afterwards he said, ‘Sorry manager I should have stayed longer and sit down and give time for the rest’ but it was an emotional reaction of a player who is very hungry to play.” Clement described the incident on the BBC, saying, “Cyriel got a knock, or a finger in his eye, or anything in his eye, so he lost sight, he couldn’t see well. “He was quite passionate about it because he wanted to stay on the pitch, but he couldn’t see anything, so he raced off.

“It was a very unusual experience for me, but he apologised after the game. It’s better to sit down and give a teammate time to come in, but it was all about winning, reacting, and playing well, which he was doing as well, so no worries. “But it’s good lessons also for this young squad to take everything in a more professional way.”

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