When actions speak louder than words

[D'Artagnan 173]

“We acknowledge that a tiny minority of Rangers fans also encroached on the pitch but only after having been faced with prolonged and severe provocation and in order to protect our players and officials who were being visibly attacked in front of them. Any club’s supporters would have done the same. This distressing and deeply disturbing episode would never have happened had Hibs fans behaved properly but as they swarmed across the pitch it became immediately obvious that the security procedures were inadequate and had failed.”

 

This powerful and assertive paragraph from the Rangers club statement following the Scottish Cup Final now, alas, seems a world away. It appears Rangers have forgotten the mitigating circumstances they themselves cited, as several weeks on the same supporters the club defended in statement have now been subjected to an entirely different treatment courtesy of our club.

 

The letter below was sent out to one of our fans arrested in connection with the aftermath of the Scottish cup Final. As you can see it is in 2 parts – a kind of double whammy. The first part imposes an indefinite ban from attending both home and away matches as a consequence of being arrested at the Cup Final and thus bringing the name of the club into disrepute.

 

The 2nd part is dependent on the recipient of the letter being a season ticket holder (which he was) and thus his season ticket has now been forfeited, without compensation, for the alleged criminal conduct which gave rise to the arrest in Part 1.

 

There is nothing anywhere in the letter which offers any kind of caveat in relation to the pending court case, no suggestion that such action will be reviewed or reversed in the event of him being found not guilty or not proven at any future trial. Whatever happened to the “prolonged and severe provocation and in order to protect our players and officials who were being visibly attacked in front of them.”?

 

No-one is asking the club to defend the indefensible but is it really too much to allow due legal process to take its natural course? Could the club not have included the caveat in those letters that such decisions taken by the club would be subject to review in the light of the subsequent court hearings? Have the club considered how prejudicial to forthcoming legal proceedings such action may prove to be?

 

The particular irony in all of this is that the information which allowed Rangers to identify those charged with offences at Hampden most probably came from a football intelligence unit of Police Scotland. The same Police Scotland, some of whose members created a fictional, false and erroneous account of Rangers fans making barricades to prevent Police responding to the Hampden pitch invasion.

 

Actions speak louder than words, and the actions from our club in relation to the fans they once sought to defend by word, offer little to support the initial response to that post cup final statement – that as club, from the boardroom to the stands we are all in this fight together.

 

Edited July 27, 2016 by D'Artagnan

[cooponthewing 1,139]

I had really hoped our club was going to back up its statement however it seems it was just lip service. I can't say I'm surprised, although I'm unsure being arrested is cause for such draconian action. As D'Artagnan says there has been no verdict, which could be Not Guilty or Not Proven.

It makes me wonder what is coming out of the Independent Report which I believe is due on 31/7 re cup final pitch invasion and disorder from 95% Hibs fans and subsequent lack of policing from plod Scotland and numerous failings from that particular institution.

[Frankie 8,562]

Clearly with the SFA's commission due to rule imminently (by Sunday at the latest apparently) Rangers have to be seen to be addressing any anti-social behaviour which may have went against the words of their initial statement.

 

At the end of the day, no-one should have been on the pitch that day and as much as the club's words at the time re: mitigating circumstances still ring true, if someone was not acting in a manner befitting the club (or the statement) then it's difficult to defend them. However, there should be the caveat that such behaviour needs to be proven before the club act and, even then, the person's behaviour needs to be put in proportion before convictions and bans are handed out.

[ian1964 10,723]

Is entering the pitch illegal?,serious question here!

[buster. 5,186]

What came from that day was a series of indefensible (in)actions and subsequent poor judgement by many.

 

Hibs fans violent reaction to winning, including attacking our players

TV refusal to screen violence (what was actually happening)

SFA security measures

Some of us getting caught up in it

Offical Hibs reaction was a disgrace

Club statement from us left room for enemies to attack and subsequent 'climb down'

Journalism generally focusing on fans fighting and not our players being attacked

Journalism generally making light of our players being attacked

Police Federation reacting by using DR article to spin a story to deflect blame from members

etc

 

 

All in all, an omnishambles where sight of the main issue has been lost.

Edited July 27, 2016 by buster.

[Frankie 8,562]

Is entering the pitch illegal?,serious question here!

 

Perhaps not illegal per se but it will go against the stadium regulations and being the club into disrepute. Polis will then easily convict you of breach of the peace.

[ian1964 10,723]

Perhaps not illegal per se but it will go against the stadium regulations and being the club into disrepute. Polis will then easily convict you of breach of the peace.

 

Then all the fans that were on the pitch will be treated the same,I'm thinking more of the famous people who were on the pitch that day,politicians etc:,which there are plenty photographic evidence

[Frankie 8,562]

Then all the fans that were on the pitch will be treated the same,I'm thinking more of the famous people who were on the pitch that day,politicians etc:,which there are plenty photographic evidence

 

They certainly should be but I think we both know they won't.

[D'Artagnan 173]

Perhaps not illegal per se but it will go against the stadium regulations and being the club into disrepute. Polis will then easily convict you of breach of the peace.

 

Thats the normal default position Frankie for those encroaching onto the pitch.

 

One is left to presume that the vast nos. of Hibs fans who did that at the cup final will go unpunished - and the prosecutions will concentrate on those whose conduct amounted to more.

 

Not exactly fair but then again the application of the law rarely is.

[Frankie 8,562]

Also, it's worth noting the use of 'indefinite' period when the club (and Hibs actually) are speaking about bans.

 

If common sense is applied then this allows both clubs to offer a range of suitable bans depending on the level of anti-social behaviour.

 

It's actually a difficult conundrum though. Safety concerns should mean no pitch invasions but they are inevitable and our fans have partaken themselves in the past. Do we ban such invasions entirely? Or do we act sensibly when they do happen as the vats majority are inoffensive?

 

Normally the latter rule would be applied but because of events at Fir Park and Hampden, then it becomes difficult to be pragmatic in Scotland. Similarly, when we complain loudly (and correctly) about hooliganism then we can't ask for leniency IF our own are found guilty of same.