Ibrox Remembrance Day Events To Be Stopped

[chilledbear 16]

'THE half-time Remembrance tributes organised by Rangers have been banned and will be replaced by just a minute's silence in future following complaints.

 

MILITARY chiefs have criticised Remembrance Day events organised by Rangers.

 

Top brass branded the half-time parade during a match against Peterhead in November as inappropriate.

 

Fans watched Royal Marines abseil from the stadium roof and a howitzer was fired from the trackside to signal a minuteâ??s silence.

 

But following complaints, Major General Nick Eeles, General Officer Commanding Scotland, met Navy and RAF chiefs and they agreed to ban a repeat.

 

Instead, he has said just a minuteâ??s silence would be a more appropriate way to mark the contribution of those who served in the two world wars and other conflicts.

 

In a letter to one person who complained, the Army secretariat wrote: â??The General Officer Commanding Scotland has now had the opportunity to review the events that took place at Ibrox Park with the other service heads in Scotland.

 

"They share your view that the format of the half-time event and the conduct of those taking part in it was inappropriate for Remembrance weekend and will take steps to ensure that such events are conducted with appropriate solemnity in the future.

 

â??They believe that the minuteâ??s silence before the match was the correct way to mark the occasion and Army commanders will be directed to restrict future Remembrance events to this type of activity in the future.

 

â??The focus of Remembrance activities must be on the fallen, not on those who are serving in the Armed Forces today.â?

 

More than 400 members of the Army, Navy and RAF were invited to Ibrox as guests of honour.

 

Veterans supported by Erskine Hospital were applauded by the 48,407 crowd.

 

Rangers players wore special poppy strips during the match and fans displayed a poppy mosaic before kick-off. Servicemen were given footballs by subs from both sides and took part in a half-time kick-about.

 

But in future, servicemen will only be allowed to participate in a minuteâ??s silence during Remembrance weekend.

 

The Ibrox parade was organised by the Rangers Charity Foundation to raise cash for ex-servicemen and their families.

 

The club have regularly honoured the Armed Forces on match days over the years. In 2009, they welcomed marines from 45 Commando on to the pitch at half-time against Hearts after the troops finished a tour of Afghanistan.

 

Scots Guardsman Gary Jamieson, who lost both legs in Afghanistan, was guest of honour during a match in 2010.

 

A spokeswoman for the Army said: â??Half-time events such as this one will no longer happen at Remembrance Day matches and we apologise if anyone was offended by what they felt was inappropriate behaviour.

 

â??Those from the Army who attended the match were invited as a thank you from the club as they wanted to show support for the job they do and raise money for Poppy Scotland.â?

 

A Rangers spokesman said the club have a close relationship with the services and will continue to mark Remembrance Day with proper respect.

 

He said: â??No one from any of the Forces has been in contact with us other than to thank us for our support and help.

 

â??Our Remembrance event proved to be the single largest memorial event in Scotland last year."'

http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/sc...randed-1558062

[foggy dewhurst 0]

sign of the times i suppose but sad and petty ifyou ask me.

[EDGE 0]

It's been starting to get a bit OTT in recent years.

[Bluedell 5,329]

I guess I have some sympathy with that view. Remembrance Sunday should be solemn and about remembering the dead. If we want to acknowledge and thank the serving troops then it can be done on a different day.

 

However I doubt that any that complained thought like this. We all know that they have a different agenda born out of bitterness and hatred.

[chilledbear 16]

We could have the Armed Services at Ibrox on another day, say around the 30th January.

[foggy dewhurst 0]

a minutes silence is the wrong road we all know that there will be some eejit who will make an arse of themselves more so if we are playing any green mob .

[der Berliner 3,246]

Remembrance Sunday ... yes, put a lonely piper in the middle of the park at HT or befor the game kicks off.

 

Have the troops at Ibrox any other day - there sure is some sort of "day of the armed forces" in Britain? Were there not troops on the field of play in other grounds in Britain too? If so, will that also be stopped?

That said, I would like to know who complained. Probably the same ilk who wanted the British flag removed from the Belfast CH. Utterly sick in the head.

[Blue Moon 1,113]

I don't have a problem with this at all and think we should perhaps celebrate our armed services on a separate occasion and stick to the minutes silence on November 11th.

 

I am paranoid enough at the moment without speculating about who complained but will accept the point is valid.

[simplythebest 0]

PC, mock offended rubbish.

[26th of foot 5,833]

As a then serving soldier, I participated in over a dozen Remembrance Sundays. They were simple and solemn. Reflection was concentrated into a period of just over two minutes. A piper would sound the lament, 'Flowers of the Forest', a bugle played the last post, and a minutes silence ensued. We will remember them.

 

The last Ibrox Remembrance had an element of circus, booming howitzers and abseilers are not needed. We provided an open goal for those who want to portray the Armed Forces/Rangers relationship as triumphalism.

 

Who would have access and considerable leverage to the GOC Scotland? I suspect the shadow Secretary of Defence, Jim Murphy MP.

 

An Armed Forces Day celebration could be organised by the club for a fixture in late Spring, where the solidarity that our support has with those protecting our freedoms can be fully expressed.