Bougherra promises apology to ref Murray

Madjid Bougherra has promised to apologise to referee Calum Murray for his behaviour in the stormy Scottish Cup tie against Celtic.

The defender reacted furiously when he was sent off in injury time and attempted to prevent Murray showing his cards.

Bougherra still believes his dismissal, in a match where team-mates Steven Whittaker and El-Hadji Diouf were also shown red cards, was wrong but is willing to say sorry for his actions.

He was quoted in the Sunday Mail as saying: “I just wanted to explain to the ref I felt the punishment was too harsh. I’m truly sorry if it appears I was too aggressive. I have tremendous respect for Mr Murray – he’s a good ref. I have respect for all the officials in Scotland.

“The next time he takes charge of a Rangers game I will offer him my apologies to avoid any misunderstanding.

“I’m still convinced I wasn’t guilty but I will do it to maintain the respectful relationship I have with the authorities here.

“He made some mistakes in the Celtic game but there is a special atmosphere in these matches. I was going flat out and lost my self-control. After seeing the highlights on TV I realised what I had actually done.”