The news that UEFA has hammered the Ibrox club hard, and threatened to close the Copeland Road stand for a game if further disciplinary breaches are recorded, in response to their scandalous banner in the match against Fenerbahçe, was surprising only in that someone at UEFA obviously understood that they were looking at something virulently racist that couldn’t be allowed to stand.
From the clubs own statement it is clear that the realise the banner in that game has put them in UEFA’s crosshairs once more, and that is very obviously not a good place for that club to be.
When you watch them these days, you recognise that all the old war chants are back—and back with a vengeance.
The Billy Boys is being blared out of the stands every other week. It’s absolutely disgusting to see its return, even in European matches. It is astonishing that UEFA has let them get away with that for as long as it has, especially when it was UEFA who put that issue and sanctions for it front and centre in the first place.
UEFA should never have allowed that song to return.
The Ibrox club is very lucky that UEFA has had its eyes elsewhere. But that luck has now run out. That banner has put them back on UEFA’s radar.
This is one of the reasons why the club reacted as it did—because it knows the last thing it can afford at this moment is to be back in UEFA’s sights, under that kind of scrutiny.
“This punishment must serve as a severe and significant reminder to the small minority of supporters who bring the name of (the club) into disrepute. Any repeat of any discriminatory behaviour (and this also includes the singing of illicit songs) may result in the famed ‘Rangers end’ of our home being closed for a UEFA match,” is what their statement says.
You will notice that songs are now a part of the warning too. Not before time.
The takeover must truly be under threat if they are warning the fans about those, because those chants and songs have been going on for as long as any of us can remember.
A lot of us have wondered where UEFA has been when it comes to properly scrutinising that club lately. There was the Gangs of New York banner last year, which I thought was a certainty to get them into serious trouble, but that one proved a little too “out there” for UEFA to comprehend what they were seeing.
This one, although completely illiterate, could not be mistaken for anything other than racism. Those who say they may face a heavy sanction for it are probably correct.
FARE used to attend Ibrox games on a regular basis.
The anti-racism body hasn’t been seen at Ibrox in quite a while, but this single moment may have inspired their return. No one can presume that this is the end.
If FARE finds itself back in the stands for Ibrox games in Europe—either for the two that remain this season or into next season—that club may find itself in the dock again, and then a partial stadium closure is the certain outcome.
I’ve already said that the Union Brats have engineered themselves a little existential crisis. But it would be unfair to point the finger of blame solely at them.
The banner is definitely their fault, and other banners before it have definitely been their fault. But we all know that the toxicity at Ibrox doesn’t flow solely from their direction.
The atmosphere at that stadium is abhorrent, and that is down to almost everyone in the ground who tolerates it or joins in with the poison.
The club has challenged the people responsible for that banner.
They are said to be in the process of handing out a large number of life bans. It has laid down the law to the fans in a way that is unmistakable. But those are not the only people who are a cause of a problem at that club or in that ground.
This crisis won’t abate just because those individuals have been brought to heel—if indeed they have. I see no sign that they are going to dampen down their own political views any more than the Green Brigade at Celtic Park are going to change theirs.
But the difference is that the Green Brigade’s banners are political. These banners are racist. These banners are sectarian.
Even if the banners themselves don’t make any further appearances, the songs are going to get that club into all sorts of trouble.
UEFA temporarily forgot that the Ibrox club existed.
It temporarily forgot that they were once amongst the worst offenders in Europe.
Now they’ve been given a reminder. Just as Celtic Park is always under scrutiny, Ibrox is back in the crosshairs, and I cannot think of a more dangerous development for that club than to have the eyes of Europe’s governing body on them all over again.
What I would not give to see the Scottish FA attempt to take on the hideous spectre of sectarianism in our game. But they haven’t even been able to convene a committee to discipline Vaclav Cerny.
I won’t hold my breath.
No Bilbao Billy Boys then… Or will there be !
As long as their club continue to supply sportwear with the colour orange in it, they are encouraging the racist nutters that buy their tat. Hell mend them, they are reaping what the sew.
They’ve said they’ll issue lifetime bans. I’m honestly astonished. Of course they should take action but I never believed they would. Someone/something else is behind this because it’s so out of character for the hun hierarchy to even acknowledge any issues. The difference you point out between political and flat racism isn’t obvious to them.
It’s hilarious that they decided on this action after UEFA stepped in, the hun board suddenly realised they are outraged.
Our club should be writing to the SFA to inform them that they’ve given our players free license to do the same to their fans at the midden when we score pointing out strongly that the consequences will be as a result of their inaction.
I guarantee you that their supporters will retaliate against any one of our players that does such a thing. Assaults will take place, bottles will be launched and there will be no stopping the animals from following our guys all the way into the changing room. Their hatred knows no boundary
They are even getting banned from their own stadium,yet that Celtic Board allow them
access to Celtic Park.That Board should be hanging their heads in shame.
Anything to keep the O** F*** brand alive I suppose.Bigotry and hatred are good moneymakers for a lot of people.
Would like to think UEFA have also spoken to the SFA regarding the song or as we all know it as a sectarian bigoted free for all that is heard now at every single sevco game whether it’s home or away, it’s ridiculous the klanbase board has had to highlight this while the SFA has continued to turn a deaf ear.
Would love to see the SFA fined by UEFA for failure to clean up this constant bigotry from the sevco klanbase .
It’s great news and about time too – and two years is a LOT of games to get through without them managing to not be discriminatory given its engrained in their DNA so I fully expect the stand closure will happen at some point.
It should be a warning to our idiots too though – despite the clear distinction between racist/sectarianist views and political views the reality is UEFA have teeth and are not afraid to bare them if they feel ANYTHING violates their rules so we (in particular the GB) need to tread carefully. Flying Palestinian flags and “Free Palestine” banners is one thing – banners that say “Victory to the Resistance” the day after Hamas murdered hundreds of innocent people in their homes or at the music festival is quite another. This is the time to show UEFA that we are not two sides of the same coin despite the desperate attempts of the SMSM to make out we are.