BRUNO ALVES reckons referee Steven McLean should have given more protection to Rangers during their Betfred Cup semi-final defeat to Motherwell.

Pedro Caixinha’s side crashed to a 2-0 loss at Hampden as the Steelmen emerged victorious from a keenly fought and controversial encounter.

Caixinha and Well boss Stephen Robinson were sent to the stands after the Portuguese complained about an elbow from Ryan Bowman that left Gers stopper Fabio Cardoso with a broken nose.

Read more: Rangers boss Pedro Caixinha takes the blame for Hampden defeat against Motherwell

Whistler McLean made a number of strange calls throughout the match and Alves believes he should have handled proceedings better.

He said: “I think so. The first action of the game was the elbow in Fabio’s face. After that, everything can happen.

“It doesn’t matter [if it is deliberate]. He opened the mouth of Fabio and this is not a good thing. This was the beginning.

“This is not acceptable. I don’t like to find excuses for when we lose but for me it is really disappointing.

Read more: Rangers 0-2 Motherwell: Pressure mounts on Pedro Caixinha after Hampden defeat​

“This is what happens when this kind of behaviour is allowed to happen from the beginning. You start off playing football and then you are playing other things.

“I am sad because we lost the game and I am sad about what happened. Fabio broke his nose. I am disappointed with this.

“We always come here to play football. We like when football is fast and confrontational but even the first goal is too much. They didn't allow the goalkeeper to come out of the goal.

“This is something that has to change because we want to play football. It was not a good day for us but we will keep on working hard.”

Read more: 'Win or win' comment gave Motherwell extra incentive to knock Rangers out of cup, says Ryan Bowman​

The injury to Cardoso added to Rangers' woes on a disappointing day as they missed out on a final berth and a meeting with Celtic.

And Alves knows the Light Blues have to quickly pick themselves up as attentions turn to the visit of Kilmarnock on Wednesday night.

He said: “It’s the job of the players to work better and harder to play in the coming games. We will try to do better in the next game.”