Former Rangers striker Rory Loy has recalled a bizarre training-ground incident involving Brahim Hemdani and former Ibrox captain Gavin Rae, with the pair having to be separated after a fiery challenge at the Rangers Training Centre.
Loy, who came through the Rangers academy and made two first-team appearances for the club, opened up on the incident during an appearance on BBC Scotland's Fan Zone.
According to Loy, Rae went into a particularly “naughty” tackle on the new Algerian national team manager Hemdani during training, provoking an immediate reaction from the midfielder.
“Gavin Rae had went into a tackle with Brahim Hemdani,” Loy explained.
“Brahim Hemdani didn't enjoy the tackle at all. It was a bit naughty but that is how Gavin Rae trained, he ran about.
“So Brahim just wasn't happy at all, and he has actually pulled back his hand to punch him.
“But you could almost see his brain going as he's doing it going, ‘I shouldn't do this’.
“So, he's opened his hand up and he's just slapped him right across the face.”
The incident then escalated, with Rae getting back to his feet before teammates intervened.
“Gavin Rae has got up and they needed to be separated,” Loy added.
The story offers another glimpse into the competitive nature of Rangers training during that era, when both Rae and Hemdani were competing for places in a midfield packed with strong personalities.
Rae's bizarre Rangers captaincy spell
Rae's status at Rangers makes the story even more notable. The former Dundee midfielder had been named Rangers captain by Paul Le Guen in December 2006 after the French manager stripped Barry Ferguson of the armband during their increasingly public fallout.
Ferguson had been removed from the squad following his dispute with Le Guen, with Rae handed the captaincy in his absence. Contemporary reports confirmed that Rae would take over as skipper for the trip to Motherwell.
His reign, however, was extremely brief. Le Guen left Rangers only days later, on January 4, and Walter Smith subsequently returned to Ibrox and restored Ferguson as captain. Rae's spell as club captain lasted just a matter of days.
Rae had originally joined Rangers from Dundee in January 2004 but endured a number of injury problems during his time at the club. He eventually left as a free agent in 2007 after deciding to pursue regular first-team football elsewhere, having spells with Cardiff City, Aberdeen, Hakoah Sydney City East and a further two stints at Dens Park.
Hemdani, meanwhile, became an important figure at Ibrox and was part of the Rangers squad during the same turbulent period under Le Guen before being integral to Smith’s sides run to the UEFA Cup final in 2008 before departing a year later.
The midfielder's reaction to Rae's challenge, as remembered by Loy nearly two decades later, provides another remarkable story from behind the scenes at the club.
Add us as a preferred source on Google