MOTHERWELL, SCOTLAND – MAY 31: Bilel Mohsni of Rangers clashes with Motherwell players during the Scottish Premiership play-off final 2nd leg between Motherwell and Rangers at Fir Park on May 31, 2015 in Motherwell, Scotland. (Photo by Jeff Holmes/Getty Images)

Rangers Stay In Scottish Championship, Brawl With Motherwell After Game

Glasgow Rangers lost the second leg of the Scottish Premiership playoff, which decides which team gets promoted to the Scottish Premiership (Scotland’s first division), 3-0 to lose on aggregate 6-1 and they are to remain in the Scottish Championship (second division) for one more year.

After the game, Motherwell’s Lee Erwin and Rangers’ Bilel Mohsni were exchanging words, which led to Erwin pushing Mohsni. Then Mohsni went mental on Erwin, first kicking him in the back and then he delivered a punishing blow to the face, which sparked a brawl between both sides. Police and match officials quickly intervened to prevent a much bigger fight and Rangers went back to their locker rooms defeated and furious at how the game concluded.

Afterwards, Lee Erwin gave an interview to the Scottish press while sporting a gash on his jaw from the punch he received from Mohsni. Reports are coming in from the BBC saying that the police are now investigating the fight.

Assistant chief constable Bernard Higgins said: “Police Scotland will conduct a full review of the circumstances and liaise with the appropriate partners, and decide how best to take the matter forward over the coming days.”

The Scottish FA will surely punish both teams as well as this melee marred an already ugly thrashing and Motherwell also might face punishment for a fan, that will surely be banned from attending further games, that struck Rangers captain Lee McCullouch in the face with what appeared to be a flag.

[h/t: Gordon Inglis]

As for the game, Rangers were hoping for a miracle at Fir Park having been defeated soundly at the Ibrox 3-1. Motherwell didn’t need to tack on any more goals to their total; they just needed a tie to achieve their stay in the Premiership. But, a howler by Cammy Bell on a Marvin Johnson shot that took a deflection led to Motherwell’s first goal.

[h/t: RyanG1903]

Things got from bad to worse for the ‘Gers after Lionel Ainsworth scored Motherwell’s second goal of the game, on a shot that took another deflection and left Rangers keeper Bell going the wrong direction. Then Motherwell delivered the final blow, with a penalty goal in stoppage time by John Sutton that really rubbed salt in the wound for a 6-1 aggregate final. 

With that result, Rangers must remain at least one more year in the second division, while Motherwell maintained their status as a Premiership team for a year. So any fan that was hoping for a Rangers comeback to have the Old Firm rivalry renewed must wait to see if Rangers can achieve promotion next year, or hope for a cup draw to watch a Celtic/Rangers match up.

About Josh Espinal

I am a multimedia journalism graduate from the University of Texas at El Paso. Soccer is more than a passion for me, it's basically life. Follow me on twitter at @joshbruv and see me tweet about soccer in almost every language imaginable.

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