The Rangers support is a fiercely loyal and passionate one. The vast majority of fans fully support their team and club, however, passion and loyalty can get misinterpreted by some fans who go beyond supporting a football team. Sectarian chanting and signing in Scotland – in fact, in any football ground - should be stamped out. It’s time for Rangers fans to stop the singing and help their club re-invent themselves.
A Section of the Rangers support being monitored by police. (Via http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk)
By Ryan Tom – @HinduTimes
It’s just over a year since thousands of Rangers fans were staring the fall of their club in the face as the club entered administration. The reality now is that Rangers are only 6 games away from winning the third division title and Celtic are 6 away from 2 in a row. For many Rangers fans this has been a living nightmare, but it has not stopped them packing out Ibrox or the small grounds of the third division, not by any means. You could even argue the support of the Ibrox club is now stronger than ever with every home game a sell-out. The Rangers support has always been the life blood of the club and they have stood by their club during its darkest days.
There is no mistaking how great the supporters have been this season and it’s something Ally McCoist re-iterated on Saturday when asked the question of not; how proud he is of the fans, but of his opinion of the obvious sectarian singing displayed at Sheffield Park against Berwick Rangers. Once again the Sunday and Monday newspapers were caked in stories about the appalling behaviour of fans and once again Rangers face an embarrassing scenario which they need to get out of.
Rangers are no strangers to such a situation. After a hard-fought victory against Celtic in the 2011 League Cup Final at Hampden Rangers faced again another back lash from the media, particularly a Graham Spiers article which condemned the fans for singing their notorious, “Billy Boys” song: one which has been highlighted by the police, the government, UEFA etc.
However as of recent times the song has begun to slowly die off from Ibrox due to many factors. For a start Rangers began an eradication of the song after they were fined by UEFA in 2006 after the song was sung in Villareal. In a response to this Rangers produced the, “wee blue book” that contained songs that Rangers fans could sing and most importantly, should sing. Before every game fans were given a message regarding sectarian singing and every match programme was printed with a Pride and Prejudice message. Despite a titanic effort from Rangers to put a stop to bigoted singing there is still a small core of Rangers fans who are failing to pay attention. Rangers faced further UEFA and SFA charges in years to come for singing against, PSV and Celtic. Although Rangers managed to cut down in singing and there was a significant improvement at Ibrox, many games against Celtic were still full of the same bigoted songs which are just not acceptable during any football match.
The problem seems to be the idea that these songs create attention and these days sanctions of fans within the Old Firm are always out to gain a good chunk of that. The Green Brigade with Celtic strived for attention when they displayed anti-poppy banners at Celtic Park. The Blue Order and Union Bears have been pictured displayed a nazi salute during singing. The attention and bad press drives these fans on as they try to replicate the idiocy that is shown by many Eastern European clubs where a hardcore of, “ultras” cause havoc during football matches. The idea of causing offence and gaining a reputation is something this new wave of fans in Scotland seem to desire.
What Rangers must now do is target this group of supporters, because they are the ones who will continue to shame the club. Rangers have been very fair in the past to all their supporters, but the time has come to crack down on the singing and by banning those fans who wish to break the law and cause offence, the issue of bigotry will hopefully end. In Scotland the law has changed and Rangers fans have to accept that. The reaction to sectarian laws may be: “supporting your team it’s not a crime” but singing sectarian songs is.
Rangers fans have been undoubtedly fantastic this season, the level of attendance has been remarkable at Ibrox with Rangers smashing records for attendance at a 4th tier game in their first home game of the season. The fans need to keep this up, but they need to support and sing about Rangers, their club, because when you support a football team that’s what really matters.
A minority of Rangers fans are rightly under the microscope for the sectarian singing that was horribly apparent on saturday, but what is the best way for Rangers, as a club and as a united fan base, to tackle this issue? What should happen to the supporters who are singing the songs that have no place in football? Tweet us your thoughts @talkingbaws or comment below.
riddrie
/ 02/27/2013Rangers fans packing out Ibrox and away grounds is hardly a surprise given the big reduction in ticket prices this season.
“There is no mistaking how great the supporters have been this season”…
Really?
How would you define ‘great’?
Thundering out bigoted songs of hate on a weekly basis?
And please, save us the protestations that its just the minority.
The club are loathe to tackle the problem because Rangers fans will drift away if the ban on sectarian songs is enforced.
They are between a rock and a hard place, a result of one hundred years of accepting that their support is sectarian.
Hell mend them.
i1
/ 02/27/2013i must be missing the articles on the terrorist love-in and IRA song book belted out most weekends, particularly on away days, by the scum in the Celtic support. Moral outrage by a group of fans who praise murderes and sing songs of praise of ethnic cleaninsing, can’t finish a sentence without using the word ‘huns’, but have a near fit at any song attacking a religion and sky fairies, or, should their clubs heinious abuse against children be exposed.
AntoniousF
/ 02/27/2013@i1
therein lies your problem, whataboutery. we could all list things that those we are opposed to do, that however does not fix your current predicament.
if everyone takes the stance ‘well they do this so we’ll do that’ then the more things change, the more they’ll stay the same.
you are obviously not one of the ‘many’ Rangers supporters supposedly condemning the actions of the (hm hm) minority. mores the pity.
AntoniousF
/ 02/27/2013P.S. i1 (is that a reference to your iq) i cannot believe that you have no problem attacking peoples religion. theres a name for that ….., now let me think. and dont get me started on trying to use child abuse to score points.
@talkingbaws, dont see the need for you to bring celtic into this article. if you believe that their support are singing bigotted, secterian songs of hate, then pen an article and lets have the discussion,
Dave
/ 02/27/2013The page name is right because you are “Talking Baws” Just because this is the first time a broadcaster has highlighted the sectarian singing this year doesn’t mean it is the first time it has happened so to say the fans have been “great” and “undoubtedly fantastic” is a joke. As for the world record for a 4th Tier match claim, perhaps a bit of research would point you to Brazil, also sold out every match, another falsehood. If that was the case then they would have had a higher total than Celtic yet the official stats don’t agree with you. A simple Google search would have meant you could have an article closer to the truth than a fantasy.
i1
/ 02/27/2013Who say’s im a Rangers fan? I think it’s a stain upon an otherwise great set of supporters they insist on attacking catholicsm with certain songs. That being said, religion is afforded too much protection under current laws, almost on a par with ones race. Why do political parties not get the same protection under law as religious instituions? If i mock or sing songs against the SNP and/or it’s supporters i wouldnt be breaking the law.
But let’s put it into perspective, ridiculing a religion isn’t anywhere near as deplorable as celebrating terrorism against your own nation – the Celtic support is much more venemous than the Rangers support in it’s hatred yet it’s never highlighted within the media. “Oh but it’s political” they cry, and suddenly using a football stadium to protest at the imprisonment of murderous terrorists (probably pals with Stokes), or even in support Hamas (any terrorists will do?) is acceptable, but there’s mass outcry about songs with anti-catholic sentiment.
And yes, let’s not start on the child abuse, it seems to suit everyone to sweep it under the carpet rather than treat the institition responsible appropriate disdain & demand justice, like Penn State University.
@Dave, i’m not sure what irks so much about the world record – the media rightly state the world record as a 4th league match record attendance. The 4th tier matches which have gained higher attendances were play-offs. Play offs are played in a ‘tournament’ fashion, where teams either progress or are elimanted. A league match is the format of 0 points, 1 point or 3 points being available from the result, subsequently the points are recorded in a league table.
AntoniousF
/ 02/27/2013@i1,
why not become a bampot and research these child abuse allegations and present your findings?. if you believe they have foundation then it is a travesty that you would allow such a thing to be ‘swept under the carpet’.
Terrorist / freedom fighter / rebel / soldier. because it is legitimised by the state, does not make it right. war crimes, friendly fire, precision targets (that makes me laugh), torture, rape, all in the name of gid and country.
as for the rest of your comments, I really really pray your views are indeed in the minority. from now my interactions with you will cease.
i1
/ 02/27/2013Good, I like to have the final word.
The crimes commited by the Kelly family while at the helm of the club, their friend, business partner and head of the boys club are there for everyone to see. Several children where abused under the badge of Celtic FC and even a prominent Celtic fanzine laid out a justification defence for Jock Stein merely firing the abuser because it was more fitting of the times to merely give him a boot in the arse. No agenda in protecting the clubs reputation and global brand i guess.
Ah, freedom fighter – the 2 words used to justify terrorism and murder of innocent civilians. We’ll cheer the murder of innocent civilians & police officers carried out by Irish republican groups in the name of freedom while denouncing the United Kingdom’s participation in several wars……………………. whilst living there of our own accord. Celtic fans play the part of cheerleaders for the most deplorable people & groups on the planet, under the guise of being some kind of left wing socialist Che loving progressive hippies – while the media have a field day at the pretence the term ‘fenian’ actually means catholic & chants of ‘no pope of rome’.
Let’s get our priorites straight, eliminate the true poison of Scottish society that comes out of the Celtic FC support.
Ryan Thom (@_HinduTimes)
/ 02/27/2013The point is that Rangers have been under pressure to sort the bigotry out and although Celtic also sing songs which should be banned, the focus has been on Rangers. What Rangers have to do is get rid of this kind of singing and then no one can point the blame at the club. There really is no purpose here of mentioning the allegations of child abuse as it is irrelevant to the article which is all about Rangers having to chance whether the fans want to or not for the integrity of the club.
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