Rangers v Hibs cup tie halted at Ibrox as fans throw bouncy balls on to pitch

The Union Bears, who station themselves in the Copland Stand behind the goal, had announced pre-match that they would take action against the club’s current manager Martin, who is facing fierce calls to be sacked from his position.

Some fans protested outside Ibrox ahead of the 5.45pm kick-off for the Premier Sports Cup quarter-final against Hibs and referee Nick Walsh had to suspend the game in the opening stages after the fans chucked bouncy balls on to the playing surface.

Rangers goalkeeper Jack Butland and stewards quickly cleared them from the penalty box, with proceedings halted for two minutes before Walsh was able to resume play.

The Union Bears also held up a banner which read “Delaying The Inevitable, Martin Must Go”, with placards with the faces of the embattled head coach and chief executive Patrick Stewart inside circles with red ‘no entry’ lines dotted across the stands.

Rangers fans are not happy with results under Martin, who was appointed in early June. Before Saturday night, the Ibrox side has only prevailed in three of their 12 matches under his watch and are winless in their five opening league matches - their worst start to a top-flight campaign in 47 years.

Rangers chairman Andrew Cavenagh was in attendance to watch the game, having flown in from Philadelphia in the US late on Thursday night.

Rangers went on to win the match 2-0 and progress to the semi-finals thanks to goals from Nicolas Raskin and Bojan Miovski.