Uefa hands Rae five-match ban

The Rangers hierarchy will make a decision today on any appeal to Uefa over the five-game ban imposed on Alex Rae.

The 34-year-old midfielder was hit with the heavy punishment for gross unsporting conduct. The former Wolves and Sunderland player was involved in a challenge with CSKA Moscow's Serghei Dadu during the Uefa Champions' League first-leg qualifier in Russia last week.

Rae appeared to kick the midfielder in the head as he challenged for the ball.

The incident was not included in the match report from referee Jan Wegereef, who missed it in the 79th minute. But Uefa have studied video evidence and yesterday decided to punish Rae.

The Ibrox outfit are expected to appeal against the decision ahead of the deadline at midnight on Thursday. However, Martin Bain, Rangers' director of football business, insisted last night that the club wanted to discuss the ban before deciding whether to take any further action. Rae is now set to miss the second leg of the tie at Ibrox, where Rangers are looking to overturn a 2-1 deficit.

But he will also miss four games of the group stages if any appeal is rejected.

A Uefa statement said: "The body looked at video evidence that clearly showed the Scottish player had kicked the head of his opponent while the player of the Russian team was lying on the ground.

"Uefa regulations allow the use of video evidence to deal with offences that are not seen by the referee and assistant referees.

"Uefa's Control and Disciplinary Body took into account that the action could have resulted in serious injury to the Russian player.

"The player can appeal the decision by Thursday and a potential appeal would be dealt with by the Uefa Appeals Body prior to the second leg match scheduled for Wednesday 25 August."