Joey Barton's Rangers suspension still in place following meeting

The impasse between Rangers and Joey Barton continued following the midfielder's meeting with club officials at Ibrox, Clyde Sport understands.

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, but 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 the 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.