| The facts matter little when lies are allowed to go unchallenged. |
It is helpful, though not essential, to have been on the receiving end of police aggression while following Rangers when an opinion is offered on this latest incident involving travelling supporters - and I have - and it`s not all about right and wrong being easily apportioned between the forces of authority and football fans.
I have watched Rangers in a number of countries and have witnessed the extremes of the follow-following experience - from our support singing Dean Martin and Frank Sinatra songs before a match in Auxerre to being baton-charged by a Dublin police force which relished and savoured the moment. There have been lock-ins in Amsterdam, sunshine in Switzerland, classy food in Italy, the best seats in the house with local fans in Barcelona and pretty girls in Sweden during my sojourns overseas with the Rangers, and it is menacing to suggest that the support has a hunger for violence.
In our press and media, however, any controversial flashpoint which occurs in the vicinity of the Rangers support is seized on and used as a stick with which to beat us; and is motivated by sectarianism, envy, bitterness, hatred and the endemic small-mindedness of the Scottish sporting press pack.
The biggest pillar in the Scottish football edifice is crumbling, and the enemies of Rangers, of which there are many, will do their utmost to hasten a total collapse. As supporters, we have our flaws, but they pale into insignificance compared to the one-sided drivel that emanates from the many commentators in the Scottish game whose dislike of Rangers outweighs their professionalism and sense of fair play. Against this backdrop, it is extraordinarily difficult for us to have a reasoned defence of the Bucharest incident tolerated - never mind heard.
There have been one or two encouraging signs however, and Martin Bain appears to be more vocal now in defending the club, although Ally McCoist on radio today reverted to old ways when he was quick to condemn those who were involved in the disturbing scenes in Bucharest. While McCoist wants those responsible removed from Scottish football altogether, he should ask his chairman if he agrees with such a stance.
Knee-jerk reactions which are open to criticism don`t just come from travelling fans - the Directors` Box at Ibrox has witnessed the occasional heated exchange and physical manifestation of anger, and if life bans from football were the answer, Rangers might be looking for a new chairman right now.
Rangers are paying, and will continue to pay, a high price for the twenty years of Murray stewardship where it was open season for the club`s enemies to attack us in the full knowledge that the club`s defence would be as silent, undignified and ineffectual as it has always been. The Rangers chairman was more intent on chasing a knighthood than being constructive in efforts to address problems which were magnified on a daily basis by journalists not worthy of such a lofty description.
In the nation`s fourth estate, can all those moral high-ground inhabitants own up to being holy and pure, or has violence infested their world too? Should we be asking some of those who contribute to the debate if they have ever used violence themselves, and if they are less than forthcoming, maybe we should take a stroll down memory lane to put flesh on the bones of those rumours which suggest that violence is not entirely unknown in that fraternity, especially in hotel rooms.
The debate about Bucharest isn`t really a debate at all - it`s a witch-hunt by the sordid and tainted of the nation`s journalistic breed to put the boot into Rangers, and any excuse to do so will be eagerly seized. This posse of sub-standard and dishonest scribblers is intent on burying Rangers and ignoring any extenuating circumstances. It is a self-styled Kangaroo Court, where a guilty verdict was determined before the first Rangers fan even landed in Bucharest.
I hope the day soon dawns when the support takes control of Rangers, and then the fightback will truly begin. Our enemies dread this day, and they have good reason to. Our aggression will be focused, ruthless and determined, and violence will play no part in a campaign to have our club and support reported accurately and honestly instead of tolerating any more of a one-sided press and media campaign which has been stunningly successful in besmirching our club.
The fightback must begin, and the departure of Sir David Murray, a key figure in why we are where we are, can`t come soon enough. The club needs saving, but it needs liberating too. |
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