Rangers charged over fan violence

[ian1964 10,416]

Rangers have been charged with the improper conduct of their supporters following the disturbances during their Champions League tie in Romania.

 

The Glasgow club's supporters were involved in half-time scuffles at the match against Unirea Urziceni at Ghencea Stadium in Bucharest.

 

Fans were seen on TV destroying seats and challenging match stewards during the 1-1 draw on Wednesday.

 

Uefa's control and disciplinary body will deal with the case next Thursday.

 

European football's governing body had waited on its delegate's report into the Champions League Group G game before deciding whether to launch an investigation into the trouble.

 

Responding to the charge, chief executive Martin Bain said: "We have been informed by Uefa that disciplinary proceedings have been instigated in relation to the throwing of missiles and crowd disturbances.

 

"As already stated, I am not for a moment condoning the action of some supporters to the unfolding of events within the stadium.

 

Obviously the behaviour of some of the fans inside the stadium was unacceptable

 

Rangers chief executive Martin Bain

 

"But, as a club, the preparations which were agreed and insisted upon in advance were not adhered to and this, in turn, we feel jeopardised the safety of our supporters.

 

"We are fully aware of the indiscriminate use of CS gas and the difficulties experienced by our fans accessing the stadium.

 

"All these factors will be presented fully by the club to Uefa in our submission."

 

The trouble in the stands has overshadowed the game itself, Unirea Urziceni's Marius Onofras scoring in the 88th-minute to force a 1-1 draw in the match after Lee McCulloch's shot had put the visitors ahead 11 minutes from time.

 

In a statement the previous evening, Bain, describing the behaviour of some fans as "unacceptable", had been critical of the shortage of entry access for spectators at the stadium, which is the home of Steaua Bucharest.

 

"Rangers came to this stadium with representatives from Uefa and Unirea a number of weeks ago and arranged for the four turnstiles to be open to give access to our supporters," said the chief executive.

 

"When they arrived this evening, there were only two turnstiles open, which caused difficulty gaining access, and for fans then to be sprayed with CS gas is totally unacceptable."

 

MY SPORT: DEBATE

"I'm thoroughly disgusted this morning after watching the shameful scenes of crowd trouble in the stadium last night. I despair of this minority of mindless thugs that has infested our support."

 

PaisleyBlueNose

 

A half-time announcement threatened an abandonment of the match and Uefa head of communications Rob Faulkner insisted this was made at the request of the match delegate in a bid to quieten down the atmosphere.

 

"We take any incident like this seriously, but we have to get all the facts," he said of something described by Rangers Supporters Assembly chief Andy Kerr as a "minor incident".

 

"As far as we can establish at the moment, it seems there were a number of Rangers supporters who came late into the stadium and we need to find out why.

 

"Then there was an issue about where they were going to sit as apparently there were banners already placed there, which resulted in the request to remove some banners, which seems to have ended in a clash between stewards and some supporters.

 

"If we need to discuss with people who were there on site, we will do that and obviously we'll take action after that."

 

The game had been moved to Steaua's stadium as Unirea's own ground, 25km away and with a 7,000 capacity, had been deemed unfit to host a Champions League tie.

 

However, problems arose before the match as Rangers fans tried to enter the ground.

 

It is as yet unclear exactly what triggered the clash between a section of the visiting support and stewards at half-time.

 

Seats and punches were thrown by fans and television pictures showed stewards spraying tear gas at close range.

 

At one point, the fans surged forward to recover a supporter who had been grabbed by the Romanian stewards.

 

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/r/rangers/8343684.stm

[Gazza_8 233]

Must be due a ban now.

[Zappa 0]

Must be due a ban now.

We don't deserve that for what actually happened in Bucharest. We'll get another fine this time imo, but we're getting close to being in serious trouble. I just hope that Bain & his assistants are in dialogue with some of the reliable fans who were there to be able to take a REAL account of what happened to UEFA.

[andy steel 0]

I must admit, that line about wading in to recover a fan who had been lifted does fill me with pride.

 

Other than that, the usual BBC bullshit.

 

I agree that we'll probably be banned, either now or soon. There's not a lot you can do about it; if the alternative is putting your body up as target practice for sad little policemen with inferiority complexes, even a wuss like me would be forced to lift a hand in reply. The sheer 'black and white' nature of the situation makes it a lot easier to deal with, for me anyway.

 

Sometimes you have to take a stand, and if the result is not great, well that's part of life too.

[alexscottislegend 2,064]

A club has no more control over who chooses to follow it than it has over the weather. Especially when away from home. Some supporters were guilty of vandalism no more and should be charged individually - that is what video footage is for. The club- as a club - should not be liable. Some of our support are no angels but I refuse to believe that we are any worse than those of other clubs. The BBC headline makes it sick; they are presuming us guilty. They could simply have said: "Disturbance involving stewards" but no they choose to single us out. And I heard BBC reporters quite clearly state that a steward punched an elderly fan in the face. John Spence, I think it was, witnessed this; he should be prepared to offer his services to the club to present evidence.

[johnnyk 158]

I just seen this on Sportinglife.

 

At least someone is backing the fans!!

 

-----------------------------

 

RANGERS BACKED OVER BUCHAREST TROUBLE

 

Rangers' explanation for the crowd disturbances in the Champions League match against Unirea Urziceni has been backed by a top Glasgow policeman who attended the game.

 

The club have vowed to argue a strong case after being charged with the improper conduct of their supporters during Wednesday's 1-1 Group G draw in Bucharest.

 

Television pictures showed a number of Rangers fans clashing with Romanian police in the stands at half-time, while one supporter was seen to rip out a seat.

 

Chief executive Martin Bain has condemned those involved in the violence but blamed poor organisation and over-zealous policing for sparking the trouble.

 

Superintendent Mike Dean of Strathclyde Police, who was helping to co-ordinate security at the Steaua Stadium, agreed.

 

He said in the Daily Record: "The situation arose because, despite having an agreement in place with UEFA that four turnstiles would be in operation, there were in fact only two.

 

"I was there with the UEFA delegate from right up until about 20 minutes before kick-off time, when there was a late surge with 400 or 500 supporters trying to get in through two gates.

 

"At that stage, the public order riot police went in and sprayed the fans. This caused a lot of tension and the whole thing deteriorated. Fans were still trying to get into the ground at half-time.

 

"What happened inside the stadium at half-time was probably a direct result of the tensions outside. I was not happy."

 

The matter will be dealt with by UEFA's control and disciplinary body on Thursday.

 

Dean, who has has already spoken to UEFA to give them his on-the-spot version, added: "Eventually, we went to the control room and spoke to the match commander. He got very excited and started shouting when all I was attempting to do was give him my advice, with 10 years' experience of these kind of things.

 

"He then decided he needed the stewards to remove some of the Rangers flags, to clear seats for the fans who were still coming in.

 

"I told him the fans will do that themselves. But he chose not to take my advice. It was at that point a steward went in to remove some flags and was challenged by the supporters. I can't condone those fans who came rushing down from the back and would warn them the CCTV pictures are of tremendous quality."

 

Responding to Thursday's charge, Rangers chief Bain said: "We have been informed by UEFA that disciplinary proceedings have been instigated in relation to the throwing of missiles and crowd disturbances.

 

"As already stated, I am not for a moment condoning the action of some supporters to the unfolding of events within the stadium.

 

"But, as a club, the preparations which were agreed and insisted upon in advance were not adhered to and this in turn we feel jeopardised the safety of our supporters.

 

"We are fully aware of the indiscriminate use of CS gas and the difficulties experienced by our fans accessing the stadium.

 

"All these factors will be presented fully by the club to UEFA in our submission."

 

Wednesday night's trouble was the latest instance of Rangers fans landing the club in hot water with UEFA.

 

The Light Blues were fined �£13,300 for supporters' discriminatory chanting and �£9,000 for attacking their opponents' team bus during an away game against Villarreal in 2006.

 

The following year, they were fined �£8,280 on an improper conduct charge for fans' behaviour at an away UEFA Cup game against Osasuna.

 

Supporters have also been in trouble with police, with the rioting during last year's UEFA Cup final in Manchester regarded as one of the most shameful episodes in the club's recent history.

 

http://www.sportinglife.com/football/news/story_get.cgi?STORY_NAME=soccer/09/11/06/SOCCER_Rangers_Trouble_Lead.html&TEAMHD=soccer

[ian1964 10,416]

Once more the European focus on football hooliganism is trained on Scotland and not England.

 

The spotlight of the UEFA disciplinary body is again fixed on the rampaging antics of some Rangers fans, whose reputation for violent disorder and discriminatory chanting and singing spans several decades.

 

And, surprise, surprise, once more the Ibrox apologists are blaming everyone except the Rangers yobs for the fighting and seat-throwing in Bucharest.

 

The previous time Rangers fan rioted at the 2008 UEFA Cup Final it was all the fault of the local council's crowd arrangements, the brutality of the Manchester police and blank television screens.

 

Back in 1972 when Rangers won the European Cup Winners Cup in Spain and marred the success with another full-blown riot it was according to Ibrox legend triggered by Franco's fascist thugs.

 

The latest attempt to defend the indefensible comes from Ibrox chief executive Martin Bain, who pledges to "fight" his fans corner blaming insufficient turnstiles and insensitive stewarding and policing.

 

Even if that is true - and it is for UEFA to rule on that- what is indisputable is that Rangers fans ripped out seats and used them as missiles, while some visiting fans charged the security forces.

 

The video evidence shows that just as the audio quite clearly highlights more of the discriminatory singing that saw Rangers fined by UEFA in the past.

 

At a time when Rangers are trying to attract new investors it is a problem they could do without. They will be lucky to escape another fine.

 

But until Rangers and UEFA confront the recurring hooliganism and sectarianism head on it will continue to haunt Ibrox for many years to come.

 

The fines Rangers have received in the past have been derisory and ineffective.

 

Jim Templeton, president of the Rangers Assembly, which represents Ibrox fans, has admitted in the past that a hardcore element exists.

 

He said: “Like every big club, Rangers has an element of support that the club would not want to be affiliated with.

 

“These people might call themselves Rangers supporters but they are not. They are nothing short of animals.”

 

Until Rangers are as blunt about the thugs and bigots in their midst there will be more Manchesters and Bucharests.

 

--

 

Mirror

[Yieldshields loyal 0]

A club has no more control over who chooses to follow it than it has over the weather. Especially when away from home. Some supporters were guilty of vandalism no more and should be charged individually - that is what video footage is for. The club- as a club - should not be liable. Some of our support are no angels but I refuse to believe that we are any worse than those of other clubs.

 

This probably happens at all away games, but there were definately a group of about 20 odd guys who were supposedly ICF - a good few of them were drinking in the same pub as ourselves on Wednesday Afternoon/night.

 

A fellow bear pointed them out - most of which had London accents and none wore Rangers colours. I didnt particularly know what to say to the guy, but felt a bit sick at the thought of them to be honest.

 

I dont mean to say that these guys cause trouble, but its too easy - especially in countries like that - for randoms to turn up, buy tickets and get in beside the normal bears who have had to fill out forms identifying who they are and by what means they are travelling to away games in Europe.

 

I dont know how you could stop this from happening.

 

I would say, bear in mind that we are certainly no where near as poorly behaved as many "fans" in other European countries. Only a few weeks ago a Toulouse fan was beaten to death by Partizan Belgrade fans....

 

http://www.brice-taton.com/lagression/index-en.html

Edited November 6, 2009 by Yieldshields loyal

[fraser54 0]

Once more the European focus on football hooliganism is trained on Scotland and not England.

 

The spotlight of the UEFA disciplinary body is again fixed on the rampaging antics of some Rangers fans, whose reputation for violent disorder and discriminatory chanting and singing spans several decades.

 

And, surprise, surprise, once more the Ibrox apologists are blaming everyone except the Rangers yobs for the fighting and seat-throwing in Bucharest.

 

The previous time Rangers fan rioted at the 2008 UEFA Cup Final it was all the fault of the local council's crowd arrangements, the brutality of the Manchester police and blank television screens.

 

Back in 1972 when Rangers won the European Cup Winners Cup in Spain and marred the success with another full-blown riot it was according to Ibrox legend triggered by Franco's fascist thugs.

 

The latest attempt to defend the indefensible comes from Ibrox chief executive Martin Bain, who pledges to "fight" his fans corner blaming insufficient turnstiles and insensitive stewarding and policing.

 

Even if that is true - and it is for UEFA to rule on that- what is indisputable is that Rangers fans ripped out seats and used them as missiles, while some visiting fans charged the security forces.

 

The video evidence shows that just as the audio quite clearly highlights more of the discriminatory singing that saw Rangers fined by UEFA in the past.

 

At a time when Rangers are trying to attract new investors it is a problem they could do without. They will be lucky to escape another fine.

 

But until Rangers and UEFA confront the recurring hooliganism and sectarianism head on it will continue to haunt Ibrox for many years to come.

 

The fines Rangers have received in the past have been derisory and ineffective.

 

Jim Templeton, president of the Rangers Assembly, which represents Ibrox fans, has admitted in the past that a hardcore element exists.

 

He said: ââ?¬Å?Like every big club, Rangers has an element of support that the club would not want to be affiliated with.

 

ââ?¬Å?These people might call themselves Rangers supporters but they are not. They are nothing short of animals.ââ?¬Â

 

Until Rangers are as blunt about the thugs and bigots in their midst there will be more Manchesters and Bucharests.

 

--

 

Mirror

 

 

What papish fuck wrote that ?

[Tannochsidebear 2,315]

That Mirror article would be better placed in a Timmy fanzine.

 

For that to be seen as proper journalism is an absolute disgrace, and to be passed by an editor is incredible.

 

It quotes an old Jim Templeton quote completely out of context, which he later withdrew, and does not acknowledge he is no longer in that role in the Assembly.

 

All the more reason to continue the boycott on all mirror group rags, they are not worthy of any bear's cash.