Alasdair McKillop: A Rangers fan looks back in anger

[Virtuoso 27,180]

Quote

For a country that has convened national soul-searching summits following touchline scuffles, much of the reaction to the Scottish Cup final violence has been the equivalent of an awkward attempt to avoid eye-contact with all things Rangers. The root of the frustration felt by Rangers fans is simple but unverifiable: The response would have been entirely different if the roles were reversed. If Rangers fans had attacked the players of another club there would be none of the ifs and buts and 'what about the songs' that look awfully like Rangers-blaming if you squint only a little.

Attempts to understand the roots of the hatred directed towards representatives of Rangers that afternoon have looked like the most dreadful examples of whataboutery. Even if fans sometimes sing bad songs, making such a point in the context of attacks on football players flirts with justifying a little misdirected vigilante justice. It's certainly another example of a country that increasingly struggles to distinguish between words and actions.

For many people, morals are like sycamore seeds in the wind when it comes to Rangers. The starting point is always the same: Rangers were in the wrong. Few stop to ponder what it says about the health of the Scottish game that it should need such a bogeyman. If you were to ask me for an image that represented Scottish football I'd find for you a match being played out against the backdrop of an almost empty stand. If asked to explain, I'd guess many of the missing people were probably at home nursing their dislike of Rangers and I'd only be half-joking. There are individuals I can think of whose allegiance to their own team often appears secondary to the fact they really don't like Rangers.

Part of the problem is more general. It takes very little for Scottish football to revert to its default setting: teenage boy. Perhaps the terrible underachievement of the national team explains the prominence of the Wembley pitch invasion in our collective memory or perhaps, deep-down, lots of us thrill to the image of our boys literally taking over opposition turf and breaking stuff. After the Cup final, the leader of Glasgow City Council tweeted: 'Absolute amateurs as Hibs supporters fail to match up to Tartan Army standards and leave surface intact and remnants of the goalposts'. I guess he was hoping for more vandalism. Finding his feet a little later and perhaps remembering the position he occupies in public life he said: 'Any actions by fans on the pitch that intimidated players and other fans is a disgrace and the SFA and Police Scotland should investigate'.

There were obviously worse places to be when the referee blew the full-time whistle but social media quickly revealed itself to be a moral swampland. One employee of a Scottish political party claimed Rangers had issued the statement to 'divert attention' from the fact Hibs had won the game. At times, the club and fans have done little to deserve sympathy from supporters of other teams but have we reached the point where this can count against the basic humanity of people being assaulted in the course of doing their jobs?

Even the first minister took to social media, properly congratulating Hibs on their victory and noting her Hibs-supporting husband, the SNP chief executive Peter Murrell, was one of thousands of happy fans that evening. But she apparently had nothing to say about people being assaulted at the national stadium, requiring police horses to restore order. In a statement issued the day after the game, Rangers criticised the first minister for 'passing comment on social media without any attempt to condemn the behaviour of Hibernian's fans'. It also reminded her that Ibrox was located within her Glasgow Southside constituency.

She finally commented on the aftermath two days later and unreservedly condemned the scenes. Asked about the statement from Rangers she responded: 'Congratulating a team for winning a cup after 114 years cannot be equated to excusing the behaviour of any fans who behaved unacceptably'. Rangers, of course, neither stated nor implied that she had excused the bad behaviour of fans. The club's complaint, and it was a legitimate one, was that she hadn't mentioned it at all.

Elements of the same Rangers statement were misguided, notably the part claiming Rangers fans entered the pitch only to defend players and staff. While this might have been the case for some and the statement was certainly correct to reference the extreme nature of the provocation from Hibs fans, it read like a blanket amnesty at a time when the club couldn't possibly have established the actions of every fan. It was telling that, some days later, Rangers' managing director said the club would take action against any fans found guilty of disorder. This was the appropriate reaction and it wouldn't have been any less so for being delivered on the Sunday.

The statement also revealed that no-one from either Hibernian or the Scottish Football Association had been in touch to inquire after the wellbeing of the players who had been assaulted. As a Rangers fan this felt, and still feels, like nothing short of contempt. Sometimes two-plus-two really does equal four and basic decency has been cheaply forfeited in Scottish football as people, including some of those 'running' the game, gallop about on high horses. And if anyone were to suggest, by way of mitigation, that Hibernian officials might have been distracted by the preparations for the victory tour they would only further damn the club. Something resembling an acknowledgement of what had happened finally emerged from Easter Road at teatime on Monday in the form of a statement that nevertheless made sure to lead off with reference to the 'historic' nature of Hibs' triumph. It was, but, you know'

Perhaps the high-profile nature of events will lend an uncharacteristic efficiency to the response of the Scottish football authorities but if you hold your breath it will likely be the end of you. Back in February the Scottish Professional Football League informed Motherwell that it would be a further 18 months before they were punished for events at a game in May 2015 that included, but were not limited to, Motherwell fans running onto the pitch to goad Rangers fans and one Rangers player being struck with a flag pole. Sadly, any deterrent effect will not be retrospective.

Little indignities count for little when measured against the violence that took place but the Rangers players weren't able to return to the field to receive their runner-up medals. These are people who never had an EBT and, for obvious reasons, they can't sing the Billy Boys when Rangers are playing. Hibernian chairman Rod Petrie in his post-game press conference regretted that the players 'felt they were unable to come back out'. According to reports, someone from the SFA handed the medals to a Rangers squad player to dispense rather than go into the dressing room personally.

http://www.scottishreview.net/AlasdairMcKillop42a.html

[Courtyard Bear 41,357]

Good read, the only bit I would pass comment on is if Rangers fans came onto the pitch only looking for a fight why did they stay down at their own end once the scumbag Hivs had ran back to their own half. 

[Pure_Quality 3,296]

Brilliant piece of writing. He writes a lot of good stuff actually but that's a topper.

[RyanMac 185]

Not one Rangers fan would have entered the pitch if hivs hadn't invaded and attacked our players. If anything the spoon burners could have incited a riot, and if it wasn't for the restraint of our support it could have ended a whole lot worse. 

Under the Public Order Act 1986 we were provoked, and if a riot had occurred it would've been 10 years for that lot, not the people retaliating out of fear. 

[ronniescu 2,988]

I was part of the Wembley pitch "invasion". The only reason anyone was on the pitch that day is because the police wanted the stadium cleared quickly & told us all to go across the pitch & exit gates at the opposite sides. Once on the pitch however, it was party time.

[pcbear 10,924]

4 minutes ago, ronniescu said:

I was part of the Wembley pitch "invasion". The only reason anyone was on the pitch that day is because the police wanted the stadium cleared quickly & told us all to go across the pitch & exit gates at the opposite sides. Once on the pitch however, it was party time.

Whit!!! 

[minstral 5,375]

5 minutes ago, ronniescu said:

I was part of the Wembley pitch "invasion". The only reason anyone was on the pitch that day is because the police wanted the stadium cleared quickly & told us all to go across the pitch & exit gates at the opposite sides. Once on the pitch however, it was party time.

Bullshit.

[magic8ball 27,904]

Action is required before the season starts,and a firm hand against hubs too,that which is unlikely to happen as they will be included in the Europa league qualifiers 

failure to deal with this will let opposition teams know they can get away with it and the potential for incidents at away grounds will be far greater .the cabal still have a duty of care but as it stands they couldn't care less 

[big blue Fin 3,724]

Look back at the scenes at Fir Park last year against Motherwell and think how little punishment Motherwell received, are we actually expecting that the hivees are going to be punished?

They should be hit with an order to play all their Scottish Cup games behind closed doors in the coming season;

A points penalty of at least 5 points;

A fine of at least £100,000.

I however expect them to escape virtually unpunished, and in fact I fully expect us to be punished more for daring to sing a few "offensive" songs, offensive my fat hairy ass. 

 

 

[Dickie 12,905]

2 hours ago, ronniescu said:

I was part of the Wembley pitch "invasion". The only reason anyone was on the pitch that day is because the police wanted the stadium cleared quickly & told us all to go across the pitch & exit gates at the opposite sides. Once on the pitch however, it was party time.

You should represent hibs at the enquiry(if we ever see it). Why don't you change your username to hans Christian Andersen 

[scottyscott1963 18,636]

44 minutes ago, Dickie said:

You should represent hibs at the enquiry(if we ever see it). Why don't you change your username to hans Christian Andersen 

Something along the same lines as Pinochio. Watch when that cunt turns in case you get smacked with a big long beak. 

[Sam English Loyal 945]

Excellent piece of writing. 

[siddiqi_drinker 14,635]

3 hours ago, minstral said:

Bullshit.

No its ABSOLUTE bullshit.  

[siddiqi_drinker 14,635]

3 hours ago, ronniescu said:

I was part of the Wembley pitch "invasion". The only reason anyone was on the pitch that day is because the police wanted the stadium cleared quickly & told us all to go across the pitch & exit gates at the opposite sides. Once on the pitch however, it was party time.

But we're talking about the football not the Spice Girls or Wham concerts, absolute rocket.

[Scottywellhousetb 50,772]

3 hours ago, ronniescu said:

I was part of the Wembley pitch "invasion". The only reason anyone was on the pitch that day is because the police wanted the stadium cleared quickly & told us all to go across the pitch & exit gates at the opposite sides. Once on the pitch however, it was party time.

WTF has this to do with the cup final events, it actually sounds like you are making excuses for the behaviour of those horrible hiv bastards , shocking post 

[plumbGER 24,518]

4 hours ago, ronniescu said:

I was part of the Wembley pitch "invasion". The only reason anyone was on the pitch that day is because the police wanted the stadium cleared quickly & told us all to go across the pitch & exit gates at the opposite sides. Once on the pitch however, it was party time.

What i find astonishing is that this cunt isn't banned yet.

[scottyscott1963 18,636]

4 hours ago, ronniescu said:

I was part of the Wembley pitch "invasion". The only reason anyone was on the pitch that day is because the police wanted the stadium cleared quickly & told us all to go across the pitch & exit gates at the opposite sides. Once on the pitch however, it was party time.

I was part of the invasion at the NOU CAMP and although we were not invited to take a "short cut" I can honestly say it was "exuberance" and the Dynamo Moscow players were swallowed up like a plague of locusts and not one of them received as much as a cuff round the ear. We are talking about RANGERS players being assaulted. For fucks sake please do not take the same line as the rest of Scotland that it was "ok as it only Rangers players"   

[Inigo 32,676]

Great piece.

By the way, I do believe we're still waiting for the congratulations of the First Minister for our return to the top flight, a massive event in OUR history. As said, we are in her constituency, so you'd think if she found it appropriate to congratulate Hibs for their historic achievement, she might find it within herself to recognise that from a team in her back yard. She did promise to represent all of Scotland after all, not just SNP voters. 

 

[Scottywellhousetb 50,772]

3 minutes ago, Inigo said:

Great piece.

By the way, I do believe we're still waiting for the congratulations of the First Minister for return to the top flight, a massive event in OUR history. As said, we are in her constituency, so you'd think if she found it appropriate to congratulate Hibs for their historic achievement, she might find it within herself to recognise that from a team in her back yard. She did promise to represent all of Scotland after all, not just SNP voters. 

 

She can promise all she wants m8, the only thing she represents for me is everything that's wrong with this country right now.

[Blue Avenger 22,567]

5 minutes ago, Inigo said:

Great piece.

By the way, I do believe we're still waiting for the congratulations of the First Minister for return to the top flight, a massive event in OUR history. As said, we are in her constituency, so you'd think if she found it appropriate to congratulate Hibs for their historic achievement, she might find it within herself to recognise that from a team in her back yard. She did promise to represent all of Scotland after all, not just SNP voters. 

 

How this back yard continually vote her in beggars belief!

[scottyscott1963 18,636]

9 minutes ago, Blue Avenger said:

How this back yard continually vote her in beggars belief!

The rab c nesbitts and mary dolls of this country would swallow shite if they were told it would get them independence in this pus filled sore,and they would have us all believe that it would be better the germans telling us what to do rather than the English working with us. The nazionalists are pure poison and me for one am voting to LEAVE at the vote next Thursday. Even if it is only a "GIRFUY" to the nazionalists.

[TheTavernierDevil 23]

5 hours ago, ronniescu said:

I was part of the Wembley pitch "invasion". The only reason anyone was on the pitch that day is because the police wanted the stadium cleared quickly & told us all to go across the pitch & exit gates at the opposite sides. Once on the pitch however, it was party time.

[TheTavernierDevil 23]

Staggering silence from the powers that be. "A conspiracy of silence speaks louder than words"

[KeyserSoze 14,700]

1 hour ago, Scottywellhousetb said:

She can promise all she wants m8, the only thing she represents for me is everything that's wrong with this country right now.

Can I ask you Scotty - what have you done to effect a political change in this country? You seem to hate everything about Scotland so I hope you are trying your best. 

[SasaPapacLoyal 348]

1 hour ago, scottyscott1963 said:

The nazionalists are pure poison and me for one am voting to LEAVE at the vote next Thursday. Even if it is only a "GIRFUY" to the nazionalists.

Well that is stupid as fuck