TODD CANTWELL has been branded a "cheat" by two former top-flight referees for his dive against Aberdeen.
The Rangers midfielder looked to bring Philippe Clement's side back into the game at Pittodrie after Bojan Miovski opened the scoring with a stunning goal early doors.
Cantwell, 25, struggled to make an impact in his first start for the club since the 2-1 win against Sparta Prague earlier this month after his knee injury kept him out of the manager's first XI for a number of weeks.
The Englishman has been slammed over his antics since joining the Light Blues in January with Celtic hero Chris Sutton regularly pulling him up for various incidents on the pitch.
And the playmaker has grabbed the headlines for the wrong reasons again today after trying to win his side a penalty with a blatant dive in the first half.
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Cantwell was darting through the Aberdeen defence on the 23rd minute before throwing himself to the ground when challenged by Richard Jensen and Jamie McGrath.
The pair attempted to win the ball off the midfielder but the former St Mirren man's leg collided with Cantwell and the ex-Norwich City star flew to the ground with very little contact.
James McFadden slammed the player on-air while on commentary duties for Sky Sports, branding his attempt at simulation "ridiculous".
The incident sparked a reaction from former top-flight referees Steve Conroy and Des Roache too as they condemned the midfielder and stated that he should be hit with a retrospective ban.
Conroy told stocklytics.com: "He’s a cheat and he should face a retrospective red card. It’s ridiculous.”
Roache added: “It’s actually embarrassing. He should be hammered for this – and it’s not the first time he’s done it.
"Cheating is the worst thing in football – and that’s what this is. He should be hammered for this.
"-I remember Gordon Smith – when he was SFA chief executive – asking for a straight red for simulation and I have always agreed. It’s the only way to stamp this out.”
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