PETER Hartley wasted no time in offering a full and unreserved apology for his ill-considered remarks about Fabio Cardoso immediately after he had been made aware of the outcry they had caused.

But the admirable and heartfelt remorse the Motherwell captain has shown is unlikely to spare him from some fairly severe SFA punishment in the coming days.

Nor will it prevent him being singled for some vociferous abuse from the large travelling support in the Ladbrokes Premiership game with the Ibrox club at Fir Park on Sunday lunchtime.

Hartley, who stated that it had been “fun” to watch Cardoso “weeping” after Ryan Bowman had broken his nose in an aerial challenge in the Betfred Cup semi-final at Hampden last year, only has himself to blame.

It should be stressed that Hartley, who is popular with both his team mates and opponents alike, meant no malice with his comments.

The Englishman is a formidable and ferocious competitor on the park, as rival players will readily testify, during games, but off it afterwards he is affable and approachable.

His statement about Cardoso, the Portuguese defender who was sidelined for over a month as a result of reckless Bowman challenge, was made in a light-hearted manner.

However, an experienced professional like Hartley should have been aware that, in this social media age, the soundbite would have been pounced upon and caused such a rumpus.

It may possibly have been acceptable if it had been made in the confines of a dressing room or as part of some post-match banter.

But as part of a pre-match media conference for such a high-profile fixture it was crass and inadvisable.

The Cardoso incident is one that still rankles many Rangers fans. The fact that Bowman escaped punishment from the governing body especially. To say that he had enjoyed a forearm smash that left the centre half covered in blood was stupid and inflammatory.

An experienced professional like Hartley should have known far better and he can have no complaints if the consequences are drastic.

“I apologise for the comments I made in the media today,” the Motherwell captain wrote on Twitter yesterday afternoon.

“What I said falls below the standards expected of the captain of Motherwell Football Club.

“I do not condone violent behaviour or wish to trivialise an injury suffered by a fellow professional.”

But his interview with the broadcast media had been posted online and pounced upon by an outraged Rangers supporter long before. They will not forgive or forget.

Nor will the SFA compliance officer. His remarks are being examined and it will be no surprise if he is issued with a notice of complaint as a result.

“I think (Bowman) broke a boy’s nose didn’t he?,” he had said. “That was fun to watch, the way he was weeping. But, yes, they have all been entertaining and the games have been close.

“We fully believe we can get the job done and beat them, I know Rangers are one of the bigger teams in this division but we’re not going to try and sit in for a draw at home.

“We’ll come out on Sunday with the mentality to go and take three points. We’re fully prepared to go out and win the game – obviously they’ve had a good start and have a tough game tonight.”

What was already a difficult game for Motherwell against a Rangers team lifted by the appointment of Steven Gerrard and the arrival of some quality players has been made more difficult still by their skipper.

Hartley is confident he will be able to deal with the threat posed by Alfredo Morelos and, if he plays, new signing Kyle Lafferty, but both men will be lauded by the Rangers supporters if they can get the better of the Motherwell centre back.

.“We’ve shown Rangers a lot of respect on the training ground but that respect will go out of the window on Sunday,” he said”

Sadly for Hartley, the same was true as he looked ahead to the match.