The UEFA delegate clearly concurred, I understand the local police were equally impressed but, as has become something of a feature of following the Rangers in Europe in this day and age, that didn't stop the usual suspects rearing their ugly heads yet again and landing us in the dock.
And the club had only started to put together its defence against this bogus charge when news broke that, again after the official observer had given Rangers a clean bill of health at the return leg, an outside body had filed a report to UEFA and our club was facing further disciplinary action.
Martin Bain's indignant response was exactly what would be expected from any self-respecting Chief Executive of a club being subjected to an ongoing hate campaign. Unfortunately for Rangers, his promise to 'vigourously defend' our club is at least five feckin years too feckin late. He appeared to be surprised to find that 'this has all the hallmarks of a deliberate and targeted campaign against the club.'
Where on earth has he been hiding all this time?
When he rolled over tamely and allowed our club to be shafted for the singing of The Billy Boys in Villarreal back in 2006, FFers both on the messageboard and in the fanzine warned that a very dangerous precedent had been set. Let me remind you that UEFA found Rangers fans NOT GUILTY of discriminatory singing, only to overturn the verdict when one committee appealed against another committee's decision. It was crystal clear then that we were in the firing line, Bain should have responded assertively, insisted that the original verdict be adhered to and, if the club and the fans had got together, our cultural links to the song could have been defended and UEFA and their various informants sent packing with a flea in the ear.
Anybody who thought the banning of The Billy Boys would be the end of it clearly has no knowledge of Timothy's devious ways. It was a victory for them and, not inclined to rest on their laurels, they were on the look-out for their next target. So a brief YouTube clip which captured the add-ons to Simply The Best shifted attention away from Spanish police brutality in Pamplona, a concerted campaign to demonise the support after a few unfortunate incidents in Manchester went unchallenged, the criminalisation of a pisstake now known as The Famine Song was slipped under the radar, accepting a fine despite chaotic crowd organisation at a Champions League game in Bucharest was yet another pathetic capitulation and sitting back and doing sweet hee-haw as Joke McConnell, Wee Eck Salmond and Cardinal Punchapape pointed the finger of blame at Ibrox for all of Scottish society's problems gave our enemies further encouragement.
And just in case you haven't noticed, a certain other club in our no mean city has engaged in a prolonged campaign to discredit Scottish referees, leading to officials being assaulted, their families verbally abused and their property vandalised, so much so that the whistlers went on strike last November. And this other club - 'They're not our enemy, they're our rivals.' Aye right! - is currently setting out to undermine the very fabric of Scottish football at every opportunity, with their mouthpiece ludicrously suggesting there is a bias in favour of Rangers, knowing only too well that nobody at Ibrox will seek to set the record straight. And while on the topic of that other despicable club, what about missiles raining down on Fernando Ricksen, Nacho Novo and Dr Paul Jackson?
Meanwhile, the Scottish media have adopted a distinct anti-Rangers stance, the same old names have churned out the same old stories, while turning a blind eye to the disgraceful goings-on across the city. Whatever happened to the promised action against the Scum Of who unfurled their shameful anti-poppy banner? Perhaps they hired an ego-tripping QC to state their case. In a sensible country served by a sensible working press, any sensible person would expect some sensible answers. But I digress...
It has all happened on your watch, Mr Bain.
Nor will our club's enemies show any inclination to back off until somebody decides to draw a line in the sand and fight back. Yet all Rangers supporters know that nobody at Ibrox is interested in fighting the good fight so once more it will be left to the fans to respond but our support has been fragmented by more than a decade of mismanagement and disinterest from Murray and the lameduck presence of Bain. While the RST has taken the lead in speaking out against this prolonged anti-Rangers witchhunt, the Assembly, the Association and other fans groups have voiced differing opinions, there is no united front, our massive fanbase lacks recognised leadership and is therefore vulnerable to attack.
Whatever defence we lodge against this latest spate of nonsense, whether successful or not, I fear we are too far down this rocky road to turn the thing around. The dignified silence routine has left our club with a lengthy rap sheet, UEFA can say we have run out of last chances, they could land us with fines, ground closures and bans which put our long-term future in serious doubt. These new charges certainly won't make our club at all more attractive to Craig Whyte or any other potential new owner
So where do we go from here?
It is essential that we say enough is enough NOW. For the time being, The Billy Boys is gone, Bain accepted the ban five years ago so we can hardly seek to revive it now and any persistence in singing it is presenting our enemies with an open goal. They'll grab it gladly. Similarly, The Famine Song has been criminalised, if you sing it you are liable to be arrested and the club would be wide open to whatever sanctions the authorities might care to impose on any given day. The combined might of UEFA, the RC Church, local politicians and the disreputable Scottish mhedia are out to get us, there is no hidden agenda, they will keep after us until there is nothing left to attack.
So this summer must see the Rangers support come together as one no-nonsense body. All interested parties must sit down together, all egos and personal interests must be left at the door and all attention must be focused on putting matters right. The Rangers song book has to be examined, we have to make sure every word is beyond reproach, lets deny our enemies the ammunition they need. Once we do that, we can expose the mock indignation for what it is and turn the spotlight on the dubious individuals who are thriving in the twisted industry which anti-sectarianism has become in this stupid wee country we live in.
Don't mistake any inclination to drop certain songs or change the words of some others as a Bain-like white flag approach. This would merely be a truce, a sensible strategy to take the heat off our club and prepare our defences, an opportunity to regroup and face up to our enemies, to suck them into an ambush then go after them with all guns blazing. But we are so divided these days, we are two or three years away from rebuilding our image and resurrecting the relationship between the club and the fans to engage in a fight we can win. It would be a big bonus if the takeover saga could be brought to a successful conclusion and the new owners were persuaded to join forces with the fans to ensure we all sing from the same hymn sheet.
Any debate about the songs which pollute the air when FC Sporting Integrity de la Barrowland are in town is for another day. We know they are worse than us, we know the authorities are closing their eyes and ears to it all, we know it isn't right but we also know that landing them in the dock does nothing whatsoever to help Rangers. We have to put our own house in order, deny them the moral high ground, then we can address these issues from a position of strength, where people will recognise that we have cleaned up our act and begin to give our great club and its wonderful fanbase the respect we deserve.
It won't happen while David Murray is still lurking in the background and Martin Bain is sitting at the boardroom table but, with new ownership we will have an opportunity to start anew, to again become the Rangers we know and love and maybe, just maybe, we can initiate discussions about what offended Timothy in the first place. There are folks out there who get up early in the morning and walk many miles to be offended. Wouldn't it be good to make them get up even earlier and walk even further to find their offensive material? Anyone for the Hokey-Cokey?
Their campaign has been nothing more than a sick joke but, by lying down so timidly time after time, Rangers sent out a message that the fans were out on a limb, our enemies rubbed their hands in glee and, subsequently, it has been one silly complaint after another, fine upon fine, warning after warning and, while I loved to hear Ibrox rocking to the sound of the Billy Boys, the reality of our current situation is that the 'we'll sing what we like' approach - we can't! - is going to land the club we love in more and more trouble.
At this particular moment in time, blind defiance serves no useful purpose, we've got to box clever, come together for the greater good, the reputation of The Rangers F.C. and a footballing future which our children and grandchildren can enjoy, just like we did ourselves in the bygone days of yore.
C'mon Bears, you know it makes sense.
LITTLE BOY BLUE