Joey Barton's Rangers suspension still in place following meeting

The 34-year-old has been serving an extended suspension from the club's training base following a furious row with boss Mark Warburton and team-mate Andy Halliday in the wake of the 5-1 defeat at Celtic Park on September 10.

Barton and his representative spent almost two hours in talks with the Ladbrokes Premiership club on Thursday afternoon, b ut there was no change to his situation.

It is understood the meeting was the first stage in a formal disciplinary process, which the club confirmed it had instigated earlier this month.

The meeting came on the day Barton was initially due to attend a Scottish Football Association hearing over charges the former Manchester City and Newcastle midfielder broke strict betting rules. He was accused of placing 44 bets on games between July 1 and September 15 this year.

The hearing was put back until November 17 following Barton's request for more time to prepare a defence and t he stand-off between club and player now looks set to continue until at least that date.

Barton joined Rangers in the summer from Burnley, signing a two-year deal in July said to be worth £20,000 a week.