Russell Martin publicly accused Rangers star Hamza Igamane of refusing to come off the bench and play vs St Mirren over the weekend.
The Moroccan attacker was left on the bench as Gers drew 1-1 with the Buddies in Paisley on Sunday afternoon.
He has not started for the club under Martin yet this season and that could be an issue which has unsettled the 22-year-old. Another consideration for the club is that Lille have been keen to sign the attacking playmaker in recent weeks.
It has been reported that the French club have already lodged at least one official bid for the player but that was booted into touch by Rangers who want more.
According to the manager, he called for the player to get stripped after around an hour during their Scottish Premiership clash in order to take to the field and provide more attacking options as the Light Blues chased a victory.
Russell Martin accused Hamza Igamane of refusing to play for Rangers
But the boss was met with excuses and, speaking to Sky Sports in the aftermath of the 90 minutes, he told how Igamane had claimed he was nursing an injury and could not go on.
“I turned around to him at 60 minutes and Hamza told me he’s injured,” Martin told the broadcaster. “I have to trust him, but we’ll see.
“Perspective important”
♂️ Only concerning himself with messages to players
Hamza Igamane REFUSING to playRussell Martin’s post-match interview in full after Rangers’ third successive Premiership draw this afternoon at St Mirren ⤵️ pic.twitter.com/1pQJxQ27PI
— Sky Sports Scotland (@ScotlandSky) August 24, 2025
“The issue is that the window is still open and there are people with one eye out and one eye in.
“We had a bid this week for Hamza that we rejected.
“There are too many people uncertain and we have to make sure we have people that want to be here. I’m calm about it.”
Igamane has hit 16 goals and provided three assists in 49 appearances since he joined Rangers and that has prompted interest from other clubs looking to take him away from Glasgow this summer.
Other players who looked to force transfer moves
Lille have been sniffing around as have Feyenoord, but Martin’s comments may well have done more damage than good.
Gers fans took to social media after his bombshell claims to make the point that clubs will now consider Igamane available for less cash and will bid lower as they know he wants to leave the club.
That leaves the Scottish outfit in a somewhat weaker position where negotiations are concerned.
Igamane may wish to leave but he is contracted at Ibrox until 2029 which, at least on paper, prevents Gers from having to accept a lowball offer should they wish to avoid doing so.
Of course, we have seen in recent weeks other players around the UK who have looked to force moves.
Alexander Isak issued a statement to Newcastle insisting it would be better for all parties if he was permitted to leave for Liverpool.
Yoane Wissa at Brentford removed all of the club links from his social media accounts while Wesley Fofana did the same.
