Join thousands of fans who have signed up to our Rangers newsletter. Subscribe Thank you for subscribing We have more newsletters Show me See our privacy notice Invalid Email

Rangers coach Michael Beale has been handed a five-game ban for a bust-up with John Kennedy in December's Glasgow derby.

Beale squared up to the Celtic assistant in the Parkhead technical area as the pair clashed after he was sent off by referee Kevin Clancy.

And the SFA has hit Rangers' Beale with a five-match suspension for his involvement in the incident. He will serve three of those games immediately, with two further games suspended until the end of the season.

Kennedy played down the altercation in the New Year and dismissed rumours there was a heated exchange in the tunnel.

(Image: SNS Group)

He said: “I’ve had a couple of people ask me about whether there was fighting in the tunnel. There was no such thing. It’s just the usual nonsense.

“It’s an emotional time. I know Michael very well and I have done since before he came to Rangers. We have spoken in the past. There is no issue with us.

“He was in trouble with the officials, there was a bit of verbals, that’s it, end of. That’s the way it goes sometimes.

“We had a wee bit of toing and froing very briefly, but nothing major and it’s something I would quite like to put to bed.

“The emotion of the game gets the better of you sometimes. You say some things, you move on. It is the same with the guys on the pitch. They get caught up in the emotion of it. You have to put it to bed quickly.

“I’ve known Michael long enough, so we’ll have a chat and, to be fair, he was having more with the officials than with me. It looked worse than it was. There was no confrontation between me and him, he and the officials were having a bit together.

“The fall out of a Celtic-Rangers game, there’s always a little period when there’s questions. The reality is you put things into perspective.

“I’ve been at Celtic long enough that I’ve seen the good, the bad and the ugly side of it. It’s a very emotional time in the first couple of days after it. Everyone forgets about everything else that happens apart from that game. We had a bad game. That’s the way we have to look at it."