STEVEN GERRARD knows the punishment must always fit the crime. He also knows the rules have to be applied evenly across the board.

When it comes to his players, he is confident Rangers have handled each Covid situation consistently as he has been firm but fair with those that have stepped out of line.

But he isn't convinced that has been the case across Scottish football this season as our game and our decision-makers have coped with the impact of Coronavirus.

Given the nature of the disease and the impact that it has had on lives, businesses and industries, there was always going to be a degree of trial and error when it came to running a sporting competition.

But Gerrard looks back over the course of the campaign and has significant questions about the calls that have been made and the punishments that have been handed out.

Glasgow Times: Rangers manager Steven Gerrard

His Celtic counterpart, John Kennedy, this week questioned the time the Scottish FA have taken to resolve the cases over five Rangers players - Nathan Patterson, Bongani Zungu, Calvin Bassey, Dapo Mebude and Brian Kinnear - following their rule breaches in February.

Rangers have appealed the sanctions of four game bans, with a further two matches suspended, and the case will be heard on April 20, three days after the Old Firm meet in the Scottish Cup.

Gerrard said: “I agree with what John said, I never watched the interview, but I have been told about what he said.

“I agree with his concerns in terms of the inconsistencies surrounding the punishments for all the Covid related incidents that have happened in Scotland.

“Listen, the boys have made a mistake and at the time it was indefensible.

“But we were at the forefront of being on top of it. We suspended our players and we gave them the maximum fine.

“They missed games on the back of that but that was our decision at the club, we weren’t told by the government to do that.

“That was our decision and also handing down the maximum fine. I was firm and strong with what I said to those players face-to-face in terms of it being unacceptable and about how we as a club felt.

“But there are so many inconsistencies around these punishments. The Aberdeen lads got five games with three suspended with actual positive Covid cases on the back of it. That’s why the government stepped in and cancelled their game."

The case of the so-called 'Rangers Five' is the second one which Gerrard had to handle this season following the actions of George Edmundson and Jordan Jones earlier in the campaign.

Glasgow Times: Rangers manager Steven Gerrard

All of the players have been dealt with in the same way by their club but Edmundson and Jones were hit with seven-match bans by the SFA and wouldn't play for Rangers again before leaving Ibrox on loan.

But Gerrard can point to the actions of Boli Bolingoli, the decision of Celtic to head to Dubai and the way in which the 'Aberdeen Eight' were punished and ask questions about the process in each case.

Gerrard said: "Nothing came on the back of Celtic going to Dubai. We never heard nothing on the back of that.

"Bolingoli decided to go to a different country, came back, trained with his players without telling anyone and then was involved against Kilmarnock. I think he was given five games, three suspended.

Glasgow Times: Steven Gerrard

"I don’t understand all the inconsistencies in terms of the punishments and I don’t think what we’ve done to the players in terms of punishment has been taken into consideration in this situation.

"Plus, we are the only people who know the details of what happened on that night. Everyone thinks if you break the Covid rules every situation is exactly the same. People are comparing this situation to Jordan Jones and George Edmondson.

"When you know the details of both situations they are very much different. That’s what we appealing on the basis of that.

"But that’s our business - that we should talk about and focus on. So I agree with a lot of what John said in terms of the inconsistencies that are coming from the SFA.

"We have been banging that drum for some time. But in terms of the dates and when the hearings are given, they are our of our control.

"We don’t give those dates. We accept them and deal with them as they come. But that’s our business to focus on."

The concerns that Gerrard has over the way that Covid breaches have been dealt with are not new and he has expressed such worries about the governance of Scottish football throughout the season.

Whether it be refereeing standards or the disciplinary system, there was a feeling of deja vu as Gerrard called for change in the way that our game is run as he held his pre-match press conference ahead of the visit of Hibernian.

Gerrard said: "The only people who can find those consistencies are the SFA.

"Not just in Covid situations. How many times have we spoken about inconsistencies?

Glasgow Times: Rangers manager Steven Gerrard

"I think there was an incident when Morelos and Ryan Kent were suspended on the back of an Old Firm, I can’t remember the exact one.

"Then I think Scott Brown got a retrospective ban later on once the league was won.

"We didn’t mention that as Rangers because we just worry about our situation."