Defender Jack Simpson has been charged over the alleged racial abuse of an ex-Cardiff City teammate.
The FA has confirmed that the 26-year-old - who was part of Rangers' 2020/21 title-winning squad - has been charged with misconduct over the allegations from Cardiff's pre-season tour in July.
He left Cardiff at the end of August after making 23 appearances for the Championship club.
The FA says Simpson has until October 10 to provide a response.
A spokesperson said: “Jack Simpson, a former Cardiff City player, has been charged with a breach of FA Rule E3 for misconduct that took place on their pre-season tour to Portugal in July 2023.
“It’s alleged that the defender’s language towards a teammate was abusive and/or insulting and/or improper contrary to FA Rule E3.1.
“It’s further alleged that this constitutes an ‘aggravated breach’, which is defined in FA Rule E3.2, as it included a reference – whether express or implied – to race and/or colour.”
Weymouth-born Simpson began his career at Bournemouth and spent 18 months at Rangers before joining Cardiff in August 2022.
Cardiff announced Simpson’s departure in a brief 16-word statement on August 31.
It read: “We can confirm that Jack Simpson has today left Cardiff City Football Club by mutual consent."
Meanwhile, Brendan Rodgers admits he was sad to learn of Michael Beale's dismissal at Rangers.
The Celtic manager has candidly opened up on his thoughts following the 43-year-old's sacking by the Ibrox club.
The Englishman left on Sunday night after he was removed from his position following a third defeat from seven Premiership games against Aberdeen on Saturday afternoon.
That result saw Rangers fall seven points behind Celtic in the league table after only two months of the 2023/24 campaign.
While Rodgers remains fully focused on Celtic's Champions League group stage match against Lazio tomorrow night, the Irishman was honest about his feelings on the matter.
"I'm always saddened when any manager loses their job, no matter what club they work at," Rodgers explained. "When you manage Celtic or Rangers, they're big pressure jobs."
