Former Rangers defender Nikola Katic has been accused by Swiss star Taulant Xhaka of insulting him which provoked his outrageous headbutt on the Croatian stopper.

Katic now plays for FC Zurich and was attacked by Xhaka at the weekend after he was sent off when he launched a Zinedine Zidane-style headbutt at the Croatian's chest.

The Basel captain has been hammered with an eight-game ban by the Swiss FA and initially apologised for the incident, although he claimed he was the subject of 'verbal insults against me and my family.'

But after the ban was handed down, Xhaka called out Katic for his behaviour leading up to the incident, without revealing exactly what was said to him to cause him to react, as he hit out at media coverage of the incident.

Xhaka said: "Look at the video of why he puts the jersey in front of his mouth and keeps coming to me. You guys have cameras everywhere, don't you?

"Of course you're not interested in the fact that I'm being provoked and my family involved.

READ MORE: Ex-Rangers ace Nikola Katic brutally headbutted during Basel vs Zurich

"And this guy from Zurich...I don't even know his name. Of course, what he says doesn't interest you either, does it?

"In the future, it's better to hire a lip reader than a VAR that doesn't work."

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