It’s quite clear that they are a sectarian mob, singing songs and yelling about killing Catholics. Dressing in a Rangers outfit is not their choice. They are violent and foul Unionists waving Union Jacks and wearing red, white and blue hats, fighting with each other, chucking missiles at police, urinating wherever they are standing or staggering, starting fires, smashing benches and ruining the Square.
They are not all from Glasgow, of course. A reasonable percentage are from Northern Ireland, taking part in Orange walks and supporting the Protestant paramilitaries. That’s not because they are worshipping members of a Protestant church, it’s because they hate and are at war with Catholics. All that, along with sectarian chants during matches, isn’t about genuine admiration of the football team. They’ve managed to nail it as a permitted club gathering and opportunity to celebrate their hatred.
If anyone feels sorry for the Rangers club and thinks they are suffering from foul fans, they are not considering how this evil, vile, vindictive association has been allowed by the club for decades, letting it grow into a mob attacking Glasgow centre. We can’t be 100 per cent sure that most of the executives have the same attitudes as the obnoxious “fans”, but they have permitted sectarian songs, and don’t seem to have any method of banning swearing, violent troublemakers. All the club does is get the thugs to walk away from Ibrox, with no responsibility for where they’ll go and what they’ll do.
Rangers FC should, certainly by now, be trying to find some way to control or reject these disgusting “fans”. But of course, it’s quite likely there were some in the shocking, slummy, George Square gathering who haven’t actually had season tickets or even been to a match, rather just watching it on TV. Their “club” is for violence, vandalism and fighting, not following football.
Today, as well as their hideous criminality and revolting existence in the Square, they have potentially added to a rise of Covid-19, given that Glasgow is already keeping restrictions because of the India variant.
Along with that they are giving the impression (if not a vow) of threatening the majority of the country who voted against Brexit, who want to leave the UK and rejoin the EU. Unionist politicians don’t physically fight, but Unionist, sectarian Rangers could.
What can the government do? They must be trying to figure that out. Can they shut Rangers down? The Club could pay for George Square repairs… but will they? They should pay millions to hire security firms to deal with their dangerous, loathed “fans”.
And any genuine Rangers supporter who is intelligent and moral should opt out – especially Tory politicians like Murdo Fraser – to avoid shame.
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