Today UEFA said that they would not be taking action against “either club” for the deplorable behaviour of Sevco and Osijek fans last week, in which Ibrox supporters stabbed two of their rivals. The SFA is believed to have no interest in pursuing a case against Steven Gerrard although his comments were a clear violation of their rules.
UEFA are hiding behind the old “it happened outside the ground” argument; this, of course, was proved a nonsense when they fined Liverpool last season for their supporters throwing stuff at the Manchester City team bus. UEFA has a history of washing its hands of stuff that they claim does not concern them.
This is a mistake, as will become all too clear.
This happened close enough to Ibrox that even the media here described it as happening “on their doorstep.”
UEFA has set a deadly precedent.
The SFA are just contemptible.
Their decision not to pursue a case against Gerrard reeks of fear.
You could not find a more blatant example of ignoring their own rulebook.
Why do the rules exist? They exist to prevent cheating. To prevent intimidation. To prevent certain clubs and individuals from doing exactly as they please. The Union Bears are holding a “march” for the game against St Mirren at the weekend; they’re already advertising it. And there I thought such things had to have police and council permission first. Apparently not. If there is trouble I dare Police Scotland to claim they were taken by surprise by it.
When the same group was allowed to parade down the street last season like an ISIS offshoot myself and others predicted that it would mean trouble. Two incidents in a week, not to mention the bottle thrown at Aberdeen fans, confirm that we were right.
Today UEFA green-lit their worst behaviour as long as they keep it out of the stadium.
That’s a recipe for disaster. When the inevitable blood flows it should be made clear that UEFA has neglected to take their own opportunity to prevent it.
Likewise, the governing body here at home has basically freed Gerrard up to make ever more inflammatory comments. This should not surprise us, as the club he’s at has already said and done things for which the SFA should have cited them. Ian Maxwell is already proving to be every bit as gutless and willing to pander to the Sevconite mob as his predecessor, and that’s gravely worrying especially for those of us who expected better.
What a disgrace. No wonder the fans of that club and those inside its walls believe they can do and say whatever the Hell they like.
So far, I’ve not seen any proof that they can’t.