backup 4,724 Posted October 3, 2017 Share Posted October 3, 2017 UTMOST RESPECT' We DON’T blame Rangers fans for cancellation of Eusebio Cup clash with Benfica, insist the tournament organisers Elite Soccer Entertainment’s CEO Fernando Pacheco had been quoted saying poor ticket sales among Ibrox supporters in Canada was the reason the match was scrapped By Phil Martin 3rd October 2017, 5:10 pm Updated: 3rd October 2017, 6:21 pm ADD COMMENT THE organisers of the cancelled Eusebio Cup have insisted they DON’T blame Gers fans for the scrapping of the clash between Rangers and Benfica in Canada. Elite Soccer Entertainment’s CEO Fernando Pacheco had said Rangers fans were slow to snap up tickets for the glamour clash. KENNY RAMSAY - THE SUN GLASGOW Rangers fans aren’t to blame for scrapping of Eusebio Cup insists organisers The Hamilton Spectator in Canada quoted Pacheco as saying: “Portuguese fans had been responding to the visit, Rangers fans had not. “Twenty seven per cent of Hamilton has a Scottish background. “After what they’ve been through the past few years and fought back, there should be support. But they were not buying tickets.” But Elite Soccer Entertainment have released a statement saying they don’t blame Gers supporters. While admitting that poor ticket sales was a factor, they stress that they aren’t pointing the finger at any supporters. The statement read: “Elite Soccer Entertainment would like to apologize to the fans, SL Benfica & Rangers Football Club for the match cancellation of the 2017 Eusébio Cup edition, which was scheduled to be played on the 6th of October in Hamilton, Canada. “Due to unforeseen reasons and poor ticket sales it was not possible for ESE to meet the commitments acquired towards Sport Lisboa e Benfica and Glasgow Rangers under the terms and conditions that were agreed upon. “This situation goes beyond the control or responsibility of any of the clubs above mentioned. RELATED STORIES GO WITH FLO PSV Eindhoven, Atletico Miniero and Barcelona SC join Gers at Florida Cup GLASS ACT Rangers reveal unpopular banners covering main stand stairs have been taken down “ESE has the utmost respect for Benfica, Rangers and especially the fans. There has been numerous rumors and speculations blaming Rangers supporters for not purchasing enough tickets. “That is a false statement and Elite Soccer Entertainment would like to put it to rest. “We deeply regret what has happened, and we would like to extend our sincerest apologies for any inconveniences that may have been caused to the clubs involved and to their supporters. “As well to Eusébio da Silva Ferreira’s family, all of whom deserve our greatest respect to Sport Lisboa e Benfica and Glasgow Rangers, and institutions of international renown we wish the biggest success and we hope to work together sometime in the near future.” Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prso's headband 35,935 Posted October 3, 2017 Share Posted October 3, 2017 Aye forgive us for not going half way around the world at like a months notice. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
K.A.I 36,183 Posted October 3, 2017 Share Posted October 3, 2017 Too late - the newspapers got their wee anti-Rangers story and the tarriers and Scottish football got their jollies in already. The truth? no-one in Scotland cares about that - they got their kicks regardless and it's now stuck and confined to record that got the world famous Eusabio cup cancelled last minute Scotland's shame and that Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
scottyscott1963 18,632 Posted October 3, 2017 Share Posted October 3, 2017 52 minutes ago, backup said: the Hamilton Spectator in Canada quoted Pacheco as saying: “Portuguese fans had been responding to the visit, Rangers fans had not. The Canadians have there own version of the shitey DR arse wipe of a rag. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
With Heart and Hand 8,951 Posted October 3, 2017 Share Posted October 3, 2017 the whole situation is ridiculous, imagine announcing a friendly tournament featuring teams from a different continent thousands of miles away, in Canada, in Winter, and expecting the majority of fans to be travelling foreigners hope we never get involved with anything like this again and hope we still sue them regardless of their apology Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thewhitesettler 2,712 Posted October 4, 2017 Share Posted October 4, 2017 I think that the organisers were expecting the local ex pats to be more enthusiastic about the game, rather than expecting fans from the UK, & Portugal, to travel over in their thousands. Hamilton has a Scottish ex-pat community of 27%. Therefore they probably expected, at least, half of them to be interested in the fixture. The other half would be made up of Dundee, Hearts, Aberdeen, & Killie fans, no doubt? ? I don't know if there is a big Portuguese ex-pat community in Canada, but there is near Basel, Switzerland, as the Benfica fans took up nearly half the stadium, as it looked on TV with the stands filled with red shirts, in the recent CL group fixture between Basel, and Benfica. A pity for the Benfica fans, as their team got hammered 5-0 on the night. Imagine the poor sods, waited years for their favourite team to play a game near them, then they get slaughtered by the local team, who usually struggle to get a draw. ??? Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pcbear 10,924 Posted October 4, 2017 Share Posted October 4, 2017 1 hour ago, Thewhitesettler said: I think that the organisers were expecting the local ex pats to be more enthusiastic about the game, rather than expecting fans from the UK, & Portugal, to travel over in their thousands. Hamilton has a Scottish ex-pat community of 27%. Therefore they probably expected, at least, half of them to be interested in the fixture. The other half would be made up of Dundee, Hearts, Aberdeen, & Killie fans, no doubt? ? I don't know if there is a big Portuguese ex-pat community in Canada, but there is near Basel, Switzerland, as the Benfica fans took up nearly half the stadium, as it looked on TV with the stands filled with red shirts, in the recent CL group fixture between Basel, and Benfica. A pity for the Benfica fans, as their team got hammered 5-0 on the night. Imagine the poor sods, waited years for their favourite team to play a game near them, then they get slaughtered by the local team, who usually struggle to get a draw. ??? A bit optimistic on their side of things, I'm guessing here but I assume in the area of Hamilton there will be a meeting place for bears to gather and watch the games, in a pub with a couple of dozen hardcore prob aint that far off, if they expected 10% of the population of Hamilton to turn up that is just a wee bit fanciful. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
frommetoyou 60 Posted October 4, 2017 Share Posted October 4, 2017 Lots of tims in that 27% Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hamie 4,855 Posted October 4, 2017 Share Posted October 4, 2017 7 minutes ago, frommetoyou said: Lots of tims in that 27% Most of them already had their tickets. ? Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Albertz Laces 35 Posted October 4, 2017 Share Posted October 4, 2017 They obviously don't realize folks had school uniforms to buy... Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
With Heart and Hand 8,951 Posted October 4, 2017 Share Posted October 4, 2017 is it 20% of Hamilton are Scottish expats or is it 20% of Hamilton is of Scottish descent? If it's the latter then most of them probably will never have even heard of Rangers Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
With Heart and Hand 8,951 Posted October 4, 2017 Share Posted October 4, 2017 and even if 20% were expats it would still be ridiculous to think the majority of them would go to the game Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
MidSussexBlue 1,275 Posted October 4, 2017 Share Posted October 4, 2017 That's awfully nice of them. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chineseboy 1,563 Posted October 4, 2017 Share Posted October 4, 2017 We have the biggest travelling support in world football, have broken many records, but a one off friendly match in Canada...that's pushing it. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.