Ibrox Coach Who Headbutted Celtic Boss Shamed Himself. The Club’s Response Shames Them.
Last night, an Ibrox fan website published a piece with the following headline.
“(Ibrox) women scandal an embarrassment to club as headlines go global.”
We all know what it refers to, and as I pointed out the other day, this is now a story with a worldwide audience. The individual responsible is probably facing a lengthy ban.
But that’s not the worst of it for his club. The reputational damage it has wrought on them is worse, by far, than the punishment of not having this guy around for a while.
I am a keen watcher of how companies and individuals do public relations, and I frequently find myself aghast at some of the ways organisations try to distract attention from or dampen down the impact of a news cycle from Hell.
There are organisations which think that the best way to deal with a story like this is to ignore it.
Bad move. Wrong answer.
The historical example that comes most readily to mind was how the Royal Family dealt with the death of Diana. The longer they tried to maintain that “dignified silence” the more oppressive the atmosphere became.
There are other organisations who try to change the story.
Bad move. Wrong answer.
Everyone can spot that a mile away. It’s transparent.
Deflection has been known to work in Scotland, and I half expect some variation of it to be attempted here before this is over.
A wee bit of Whatabouttery. Someone at Celtic getting the blame of “setting this off” as though the Ibrox coach was simply a windup toy who we went out of our way to provoke.
Don’t be surprised if that’s the road this is heading down.
The negative global headlines were not necessary and nor are those which will ensue if their club decides to contest this case instead of holding their hands up, as they should have done on the first day.
The scandal was his. The true disgrace is theirs.
Their inaction is what has caused it to engulf the whole club.
Whoever is advising them on this is getting it badly, badly wrong.