Nigerian defender Leon Balogun has lashed out at Rangers fans for disrespecting his club and national teammate Cyriel Dessers.

Dessers has endured a strained relationship with the Ibrox fans since his arrival at the club from Cremonese in 2023.

The 30-year-old was met with boos and jeers from some Ibrox faithful after he was introduced in the Scottish Premiership games against St Johnstone and Aberdeen.

The poor treatment from the fans left a bitter taste in the mouth of Balogun, who has condemned the unfair treatment of his countryman.

“It is, but it shouldn’t be. Not to that extent. We’ve had it here in the past when a player comes on and gets booed, or a player comes off and gets clapped off but in a sarcastic type of way,” Balogun said on the Counter Attack Podcast.

“I don’t condone that at all because it’s the same player that you would actually want to score or defend better. You can criticise them heavily, but watch the language. It is extremely disrespectful.

“Now I know that some fans would say his performance was disrespectful, but if you see the effort (they put in), then you can’t put that on disrespect because he has tried his best.

“All you can do is all you can do, right? You can criticise his quality, fair enough, but it’s always about how you do things in life, and certain things are off limits for me, so that’s poor. I’ve witnessed it – not against me personally – but it’s always tough.”