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The National (Scotland)
The National (Scotland)
Sport
Ewan Paton

Scottish football bans from Celtic's Bolingoli to Rangers' Covid 5 as Kyle Lafferty is hammered by SFA

KYLE LAFFERTY has today been slapped with a ten-game ban by the Scottish FA.

The SFA's disciplinary panel found the Kilmarnock striker guilty of using a sectarian slur when caught on camera in a nightspot while on Northern Ireland duty last month.

The charge was dished out to the 35-year-old at the end of September, so the ex-Rangers and Hearts man has been playing in recent weeks for Derek McInnes' men.

However, Killie's top striker will now be out of action until January following the lengthy ban handed down from the SFA.

Ten games is of course a long time to spend on the sidelines.

But where does it rank in terms of the SFA's big punishments? Here's a look back at other instances in recent years.

Ally Love - 5 games

Ally Love, who played for Clyde at the time, was given a five-game ban for "excessive misconduct" after being accused of making racist remarks. He was charged by the SFA after comments made to Annan's Rabin Omar were included in the referee's post-match report.

Boli Bolingoli - 5 games

Celtic defender Boli Bolingoli was slapped with a five game ban for flouting coronavirus protocols in August 2020. Two of the five matches were suspended pending potential future breaches. Still in the midst of the early days of the pandemic, he took an unauthorised trip to Spain. Celtic and manager Neil Lennon were unaware. The left-back failed to quarantine on his return, breaking government rules on travel. He even appeared on the bench for the Hoops at Rugby Park before being subsequently found out. Soon after he was farmed out on loan.

Rangers Covid 5 - 6 games

Nathan Patterson, Bongani Zungu, Calvin Bassey, Brian Kinnear and Dapo Mebude landed a six game suspension for attending a house party, which breached Covid rules in Scotland at the time. Four matches were served immediately, with two suspended.

Jordan Jones and George Edmundson - 7 games

Rangers duo Jordan Jones and George Edmundson got seven games for their Covid breaches. The pair attended a party also. The incident all-but ended their careers at Ibrox, with Rangers' heavily fining both for their actions.

Bilel Mohsni - 7 games

Bilel Mohsni famously kicked off after Rangers' 2015 playoff defeat to Motherwell. He lamped Lee Erwin after somewhat of a disagreement over a handshake. Hampden bosses slapped the Tunisian with a seven game ban. He was released from Ibrox a short while after.

Dick Campbell - 7 games

Arbroath legend Dick Campbell was hammered by the SFA after he stormed on to the pitch to confront the referee during a Scottish Cup clash with Ayr. Campbell made a beeline for Mike Roncone after the whistler ignored claims for a penalty. The game ended 4-1 to the Honest Men.

Aleksandar Tonev- 7 games

Celtic winger Aleksandar Tonev was banned for seven matches for racially abusing Aberdeen defender Shay Logan. The 24-year-old was charged following the incident in 2014.

Gavin Swankie - 8 games

Gavin Swankie of Arbroath was been hit with an eight match suspension after being found guilty of breaching SFA betting regulations. He stood charged with nine counts of gambling on football over a decade. Shane Sutherland, Rabin Omar, James McGowan, Bryan Gilfillan, Ashley Ballam, Robert Scott, Adrian Sopel, Conor O’Keefe, Darryl McHardy, Matthew Cooper and Thomas McHale all received disciplinary notices of the same type too.

Ian Black - 10 games

Rangers midfielder Ian Black was handed a bumper 10-match ban after admitting to a breach of Scottish FA regulations on football betting. Black was accused of gambling on 160 matches over a seven-year period, including betting against his own team on three occasions. He served an immediate three-game ban, while seven matches were suspended.

Gordon Young - 10 games

Cove Rangers assistant boss Gordon Young landed a 10-game ban by the SFA for a breach of betting rules. Six of these were immediately served.

Dougie Imrie - 10 games

Morton boss Dougie Imrie landed a 10 game ban for breaching SFA betting rules. He was among a group of players and coaches cited by the compliance officer for a range of offences between 2011 and 2021. Four of the games were suspended, similar to Young.

Dave Bowman - 17 games

Dave Bowman was given a total of five red cards for abusive comments as he was sent off for Forfar by referee Alan Gemmell against Stranraer. When totalled up with his previous disciplinary it totally up at a massive 17-match ban for Bowman. He was then aged 37. He spent six-months out of the game. This stands as the longest ban in Scottish football.

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