Bitter And Twisted - It's Open Season On Rangers

Last updated : 27 August 2003 By Little Boy Blue

The cheer which echoed all around Pittodrie when a brain-dead humpty hopped the barrier wall to have a pop at Fernando Ricksen was confirmation, if it was needed, of what our friends in the North think of us. Guess what? They are not alone. On the same day as the kamikaze casual was appearing in Sheepieville Sheriff Court, another mindless moron was appealing to UEFA for the right to give Rangers players a hard time on international duty. It is bad enough that these reptiles take their dislike of our club beyond the acceptable boundaries of sporting rivalry. To go to the games governing body in a bid to have bitterness defined as 'their right' just defies belief.

But that is the way it is in the enlightened football world in the 21st century. Just a few short weeks ago, some German-based Celts took it upon themselves to put in an appearance at the opening game of the Gers pre-season tour. They were there for one reason and one reason alone, to noise up the traveling Bears, to stir up trouble and to create a situation where host clubs will think twice about asking Rangers back again. All this was done in the full view of the Scottish media, with one of the scum draped in a tricolour and wearing a black beret and dark glasses, yet it was reported as a bit of a wheeze, an amusing prank by the GFITW when everyone knows it was nothing of the sort.

There is a clear campaign afoot where Rangers and Rangers players are being picketed wherever they go. It is right out of order. Between you and me, I am no lover of Timothy and his like but, whenever they are in the vicinity, my first inclination is to get offside sharpish, to avoid breathing the same air, rather than stick around and provoke a confrontation. And I'm no coward. I've rearranged a few Muppet fizzogs in my time but I just don't need the hassle any more. I refuse to lower myself to their subterranean levels. However, as Bears in NI know only too well, the Mockits will get up early in the morning and tramp a lot of miles just to be offended, when the truth is it is their presence which is offensive, provocative in the extreme, yet any reaction is portrayed as the main event.

It is a clear sign that Celtic fans have overstepped the mark when even the FAI in Dublin are threatening to take action against those who abuse Rangers players in international games - maybe the SFA should try it! Prior to Australia's game against Eire, the Dublin-based Mhankies planned a hot reception for Kevin Muscat. It is nothing new. Baz, Doddsy and McCann got it when they played for Scotland but at least they knew what it was all about. Then the bigots picked on Gio for Holland and Blue Peter for Denmark. It is obvious any player with a Rangers connection can expect abuse when appearing in Dublin.

When Denmark played in Dublin, the p.a. man announced the introduction of substitute Lovenkrands. A loud chorus of boos boomed out around the ground and it continued every time the sub touched the ball, yet Blue Peter was still on the bench. The clown with the mike had got his numbers mixed up and some poor Dane was getting dog's abuse for no reason at all. That's the mentality we're up against.

We can laugh it off but something much more sinister is going on. The Danes were bound to ask why their man got such a hostile reception and no doubt they would get the bigoted Tim-friendly answer which portrayed our club as the bad guys. Furthermore, when all the players go back to their own clubs, they will invariably tell the story and our image is tarnished. It is all part of the bigger picture to demonize Rangers. Whenever any foreign player is linked with a move to Ibrox, the Hack Pack are straight on the blower to him and one of the first points raised is Rangers' Protestant tradition, almost as if they are trying to scare the player out of making the move.

And the Press Gangsters, who have done more than most to stoke up Aberdeen-Rangers bad feeling, did nobody any favours with their coverage the Pittodrie incident. No report of the flashpoint was complete without reference to Robbie Winters being struck by a coin or Ricky's clash with Darren Young a few years back, as if they balanced things out. Sure, they tut-tutted, got up on their soapboxes and rattled out headlines like Thank God He Didn't Have A Knife. But you and I know that if the moron did have a chib and had plunged it into Fernando, the crowd would have roared their approval and the clown's name would be immortalised in chant and song, just like Simpson's thuggery of 1988.

Aberdeen's response to last weekend's events will be very interesting. In the wake of the Winters incident, they slashed Rangers' ticket allocation. What next? Making the first six rows out of bounds for the woolly ones would certainly make life a bit safer for our players venturing close to the touchline. Of course, there has been talk of Rangers' future visits to Pittodrie being played behind closed doors. Our club must resist this vigorously, although it wouldn't surprise me to see them roll over meekly, than rip us off when showing the game as a beam-back on the big screens. We shall see.

Meanwhile, I'm not sure how Muscat fared in Dublin last Tuesday or how UEFA responded to the appeal from Enda Fanning (that has to be an anagram for something!) but I'd like to think that, by alerting UEFA to what is going on, the bigots have shot themselves in the foot. Fanning has asked UEFA to accept Celtic fans' dislike of Rangers as legitimate so, effectively, our players are fair game for any verbals dished out by the Dublin crowd. The sort of 'fan' this campaign represents latches onto Celtic and Ireland for non-sporting reasons and are the scum of the earth, poisonous bigoted chip-on-the-shoulder shit-stirrers for whom anything goes in their efforts to get their own way. I'd like to think UEFA now have an insight into their twisted minds.

This state of affairs cannot be allowed to continue. Rangers clearly have no interest in engaging in this matter, yet over the years no club has been on the receiving end of more mindless mayhem. Off the top of my head, I can recall Andy Goram being attacked at Easter Road, Ally Maxwell being confronted at Parkheid, Mark Hateley getting a hard time leaving Pittodrie and God knows how many instances of menacing mobs moving in on the team bus. Does someone have to be seriously hurt before action is taken? And are our players, regardless of their roots, going to have to think long and hard before representing their country against the Irish.

Of course, that is the purpose of the exercise. If Rangers require additional police protection on away trips and players worry about playing international football, our club is associated with too much baggage and it all adds to the dark cloud hovering over Ibrox... and the bigots will snigger all the way to their next bitter and twisted hate campaign.

LITTLE BOY BLUE