Club Statement: UEFA charge

[Bluedell 5,998]

Club Statement | Rangers Football Club

 

EVERYONE associated with Rangers Football Club will undoubtedly have enjoyed the last fortnight, with the men’s first-team producing some memorable results at home and abroad.

 

Contributing enormously to these occasions has been the backing of the Rangers supporters, with the world once again taking note of the phenomenal passion the club’s fans bring to these big occasions.

 

It is, however, deeply saddening and frankly embarrassing that the club is now set to face significant sanctions for the actions of a very small minority.

 

Firstly, the club has been charged by UEFA after a handful of supporters displayed what UEFA describe as a “racist and/or discriminatory banner” at last Thursday’s Ibrox meeting with Fenerbahce.

 

Rangers is a modern, progressive football club, and we are fiercely proud of our diverse playing squads, workforce and support. For the club to be charged with such a matter in 2025 is shameful, and the disdain for those responsible will be shared by the overwhelming majority of our supporters.

 

This charge will bring consequences for the club, while the club is also working to identify those responsible and will ensure they also face consequences.

 

For the avoidance of doubt, if you do not believe in 2025 that absolutely everyone is welcome to follow Rangers whether at Ibrox or away, then Rangers is not the club for you, and you should disassociate yourself with the club immediately.

 

Further, the club has also been charged by UEFA for the throwing of objects at the home match with Fenerbahce.

 

This is becoming a regular occurrence, not just at Rangers matches, but across stadia in Scotland. Indeed, our players and staff were targeted with missiles at Parkhead on Sunday.

 

Focusing on Ibrox, however, there was a widely-reported incident in the January Old Firm game, whilst at the recent game with Motherwell, one of our own supporters was hit and injured by an object thrown towards the away end. And now, the club faces a sanction for the actions of an individual last Thursday night.

 

This senseless and criminal behaviour has no place in sport, nor in society. Again, if you think such behaviour is acceptable, you are not welcome at Rangers matches.

 

The club will also face a UEFA sanction for the blocking of passageways at the Fenerbahce match. Supporters are urged to follow the advice of stewards and police at all matches, and to take their own seat to avoid this issue occurring again.

 

Lastly, and despite clear warnings to the contrary, pyrotechnics were used by two individuals following Sunday’s Old Firm victory at Parkhead.

 

This runs the risk of an additional 800 of our supporters being unable to attend a match in the latter stages of the Premier Sports Cup at Hampden, in addition to the 500 that will already miss out as a result of the use of pyrotechnics.

 

All of the above behaviours will have consequences for the club, and either directly or indirectly, the club’s supporters.

 

Rangers as a club will stand alongside our supporters, and advocate for their rights and their ability to support the team in the most passionate ways possible within the confines of the law and the appropriate regulations.

 

However, the club also calls on all reasonable supporters to wholeheartedly reject any behaviour which brings the name of Rangers into disrepute, and to assist the club by challenging any issues which will lead to the club being punished further by the relevant authorities.

[Bluedell 5,998]

The "racist and/or discriminatory banner" was the "Keep woke foreign ideologies out – defend Europe" one.

 

I didn't know what it even meant so I'm not sure who it's racist or discriminatory against.

[Tannochsidebear 2,488]

Enough is enough. Close the UB section down. Deny them access to bringing in banners and materials, tifo etc. The experiment hasnt worked, they are damaging our club consistently for little to no gain. The object thrown onto the pitch near the end of the game last week came straight from their section, as is the passageway blocking. While I am glad the club has put out a strong statement, the fact the UB was not named and shamed, nor any sanctions imposed or even threatened is very disappointing. 

 

While nobody has a clue what the banner even means, what is certain is that it is political in nature and therefore was always going to attract a UEFA sanction and so they are deliberately planning and choosing to hurt the club.

[Sutton_blows_goats 6,006]

1 hour ago, Bluedell said:

The "racist and/or discriminatory banner" was the "Keep woke foreign ideologies out – defend Europe" one.

 

I didn't know what it even meant so I'm not sure who it's racist or discriminatory against.

Yeah, I'm not sure what I'm supposed to be upset about here.

[MacK1950 2,443]

Remove ALL the privilages these morons get along with their season tickets,

[Scott7 6,555]

If you want to defend Europe you are opposed to “the Global Majority”. It’s forbidden to think such a thought let alone cause an inference to be drawn from a banner. Free speech is haram.

[Scott7 6,555]

1 minute ago, MacK1950 said:

Remove ALL the privilages

Just remove the drum.

[JohnMc 3,118]

49 minutes ago, Bluedell said:

 

For the avoidance of doubt, if you do not believe in 2025 that absolutely everyone is welcome to follow Rangers whether at Ibrox or away, then Rangers is not the club for you, and you should disassociate yourself with the club immediately.

 

That's as strong a sentence as I can recall the club ever making publicly. I personally wish they'd made it right after the match instead of waiting for a charge from UEFA, but better late than never. 

 

Whether UEFA should be sanctioning clubs for banners is moot, it's their competition, they make the rules, so if we want to play in the Europa League we need to adhere to them. 

 

As for what the banner meant, only the people who created it know what they actually meant. Of course what someone means and how it's taken are not always the same thing. We've been over this countless times before on forums and I suspect we probably will again. That's the danger with language, it can be misunderstood, or indeed understood all too well depending on who is hearing it.

 

The term 'defend Europe' when playing against a Turkish club from the Asian side of Istanbul could be taken all sorts of ways. Likewise while playing against a club from a predominantly muslim country a message like that could be read in various ways. As for 'keep foreign ideologies out' how anyone can read that as anything other than racist is beyond me. Whether someone was trying to make a bigger social or political point or was upset at the LGBT flag on the Govan stand and the planned Iftar only they know. But I suspect any gay supporters or Muslim ones might have felt the banner was aimed at them, whether that was meant or not. 

 

I imagine personal politics will come into play on this. Often objections to 'political' messages depend a lot on whether you're in agreement with the message or not. Either way it's such a shame that we find ourselves talking about stuff like this again. 

[Scott7 6,555]

2 minutes ago, JohnMc said:

As for 'keep foreign ideologies out' how anyone can read that as anything other than racist is beyond me.

Perhaps it was aimed at some of the weird notions coming out of US Colleges. This is no time to offend Californians.

[Sutton_blows_goats 6,006]

1 hour ago, Bluedell said:

if you do not believe in 2025 that absolutely everyone is welcome to follow Rangers whether at Ibrox or away, then Rangers is not the club for you, and you should disassociate yourself with the club immediately.

I'm not entirely sure certain ex celtic employees or Susan Aitken should be welcome to support Rangers.

 

Maybe Rangers isnt for me afterall.

Edited March 19 by Sutton_blows_goats