Keevins: Give Fernando Ricksen some privacy during his personal tragedy

[ian1964 10,413]

FERNANDO RICKSEN'S motor neurone disease is his personal tragedy. It is his family’s grief to contend with and his cause of inner turmoil.

 

It shouldn’t be an excuse for the maudlin sentimentality that afflicts football supporters or for some to hijack a serious illness because it involves one of the game’s personalities.

 

And it shouldn’t be seen as an opportunity for two-bob philosophies on how the victim’s suffering will unite the game.

 

Fernando is a human being who is facing up to the reality that life expectancy is, on average, 14 months from the point of this appalling condition being diagnosed.

 

There are no words adequate enough to express the sympathy that one person can have for another who has been confronted with his own mortality in such devastating fashion.

 

But whether it’s Fernando or Stiliyan Petrov, struck down by a life-threatening blood disorder, they should be allowed to get on with coping.

 

The game can, and must, take care of itself in the meantime.

 

If Rangers want to organise a tribute match against Fortuna Sittard and give the proceeds to Fernando, it’ll be a decent gesture to make and will serve a practical purpose.

 

Just as Celtic’s match in Petrov’s honour in September put tens of thousands of pounds into Stan’s charitable foundation and proved to be a worthy cause.

 

But we don’t need to have either man portrayed as a martyr by those who revel in the grief industry.

 

Fernando and Stan would be the first to tell the hijackers that you can walk into any hospital on any given day and find ordinary families who are trying to come to terms with a harrowing medical problem affecting a loved one.

 

But they’re paying the penalty for having been made famous by Celtic and Rangers – and therefore forced to share their private ordeals with a wide audience.

 

The supporters of both clubs can always be relied on to turn up in exceptional numbers and dig deep to honour the memory of their former heroes.

 

In that respect they can’t be faulted.

 

Where some leave themselves open to criticism is when they spout their nonsense about illness putting football into perspective and try to tell us that rivalry will be diluted for the rest of time out of respect for the personal sorrow of others.

 

Sir Alex Ferguson will make the draw for the fourth round of the Scottish Cup in an Aberdeen hotel on Tuesday. If he manages to pair Celtic with Rangers we will all have to brace ourselves for a tie of unsurpassed intensity.

 

There will not be a single thought given to either stricken hero if that day dawns and the dislike that one set of supporters will have for the other will reach new levels of polarisation.

 

So spare us the need to trivialise matters of life and death by attempting to measure their impact on football.

 

It’s an intrusion into private grief. And Fernando and Stan have too much to do in their private lives to be used in that way.

 

We can’t even agree where cup finals should be played in this country without the issue

descending into the usual farcical allegations of collusion in high places and private agendas.

 

Easter Road got the Ramsdens Cup Final between Rangers and Raith Rovers because it was the right thing to do.

 

The Fife team are entitled to a fighting chance against a much-bigger club and they’ll get that on a smaller ground rather than having to go to Ibrox.

 

Celtic Park is rightfully holding the Scottish Cup final, with both semis at Ibrox, because a ground of that size should be necessary for a national showpiece.

 

Time to put that row to bed in any case because Remembrance Sunday is coming up.

 

We’ll need all our energy for the annual desecration of the war dead’s memory by arguing over who is or isn’t wearing a poppy.

 

The illness hijackers can then turn into the guardians of our moral welfare for a weekend before moving on to their next bandwagon.

[Super_Ally 0]

Article was fine til here:

 

We can’t even agree where cup finals should be played in this country without the issue

descending into the usual farcical allegations of collusion in high places and private agendas.

 

Where it rapidly went downhill.

[Guest Night Owl]

You'd think Keevins has a problem with anything Rangers related being shown in a sympathetic light or something.

[Zappa 0]

Keevins writing snidey digs about the only show in town again. What a shocker.

 

By writing an article like this he's being more disrespectful than most "illness hijackers" will EVER be.

[the gunslinger 3,366]

kevins wouldn't dare write this if it was a steak pie fc payer who was ill.

[ian1964 10,413]

kevins wouldn't dare write this if it was a steak pie fc payer who was ill.

 

 

Byline: HUGH KEEVINS

 

THE game has fallen silent. Club rivalries have been forgotten about and a sense of perspective has been well and truly restored.

 

The awful news of John Hartson's battle with cancer in a Welsh hospital has pre-occupied Hotline callers.

 

A steady stream of fans whose allegiances were less important than their concerns for the big man expressed their views.

[Zappa 0]

Sunday, 03 November 2013 17:00

Fernando Thanks Fans

Written by Andrew Dickson

 

FERNANDO RICKSEN has expressed his thanks for the support he has received from football supporters around the world after being diagnosed with motor neurone disease.

 

The former Light Blues star, who played for Rangers for six years between 2000 and 2006, revealed his illness on television in the Netherlands on Wednesday night.

 

A big favourite with Gers fans during his time in Glasgow, Ricksen initially came to the club as a right-back.

 

But he flourished most in central midfield and captained the team to one of the most unlikely title wins in football when Alex McLeish’s side won the SPL on Helicopter Sunday in 2005.

 

Supporters at Ibrox rose to their feet in the second minute of Friday’s 3-0 Scottish Cup win over Airdrieonians to pay tribute to the stricken 37-year-old.

 

That’s a scene which was repeated at his other former clubs, Dutch sides AZ Alkmaar and Fortuna Sittard as well as Russian side Zenit, who Gers met in the 2008 UEFA Cup final.

 

Ricksen spoke of how touched he was by those gestures in a statement released on his official website http://www.fernandoricksen.nl today.

 

It read: “Through this statement, I want to thank everyone for the many messages I received in the past few days after I was diagnosed.

 

“The countless emails and tweets, thousands of replies, the banners and the minutes applause on the stands at Fortuna Sittard, AZ, Rangers and Zenit St Petersburg – it was fantastic.

 

“It gave me a lump in my throat and then there were tears. Not the same tears as that Wednesday evening on TV in De Wereld Draait Door.

 

“These were tears of emotion. The sympathy of everyone, that is incredible, and I am deeply impressed by that.

 

“Even the supporters of Celtic show their sympathy and are backing me. This is significant. This means so much to me.

 

“Because of the enormous amount of replies, I can’t thank everyone personally, so I do it through this statement.

 

Motor neurone disease, also known as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, is an illness which can result in muscle spasicity, speaking difficulties and breathing and swallowing problems.

 

There are five different types and most are incurable but true to his nature when he played for Rangers, Ricksen has vowed to tackle it as best he can.

 

He added: “There is one thing I don’t want. I don’t want people to pity me. I will keep on fighting.

 

“One time someone has to be the first person to beat this terrible disease and survive. Let me be that person. I will be the fighter that I always have been. You can count on that.”

 

http://www.rangers.co.uk/news/headlines/item/5459-fernando-thanks-fans

[bluebear54 0]

Keevins should stick to being what he is - a football hack.

As a social commentator he lacks even the most fundamental skills.

[Guest Lachlan]

It shouldn’t be an excuse for the maudlin sentimentality that afflicts football supporters or for some to hijack a serious illness because it involves one of the game’s personalities.

 

And it shouldn’t be seen as an opportunity for two-bob philosophies on how the victim’s suffering will unite the game.

Can we count this attempt at an article as being a two-bob philosophy? Are you simply using the illness of two men to put food on your table ? orrr are you a crusader of truth and justice ?

 

The game can, and must, take care of itself in the meantime.

Have you seen the '' game '' lately ?

 

But we don’t need to have either man portrayed as a martyr by those who revel in the grief industry.

 

Fernando and Stan would be the first to tell the hijackers that you can walk into any hospital on any given day and find ordinary families who are trying to come to terms with a harrowing medical problem affecting a loved one.

You can indeed walk into any hospital and see many '' ordinary '' people ride the storms of life, but not everyone has the attention of millions. This is not martyrdom, this is using your public persona to bring attention to a deadly disease and help raise awareness and money for future sufferers. This is something that '' Ordinary '' people can't do without being well connected or physically able to perform a publicity stunt like a marathon and such like.

 

But they’re paying the penalty for having been made famous by Celtic and Rangers – and therefore forced to share their private ordeals with a wide audience.

It is possible for Ex players to slip off the radar, playing for either side of the Old Firm doesn't mean you spend your life in the media spot light, many players fall back into civilization and live quiet lives and go through private matters, privately. Ricksen nor Petrov are being forced to do anything that they don't want to. This may come as a surprise but a big part of therapy is distracting yourself from your own situation and focusing on the bigger picture. In such times, one can't help but feel alone so knowing you are not alone is a great comfort.

 

The supporters of both clubs can always be relied on to turn up in exceptional numbers and dig deep to honour the memory of their former heroes.

Former ?

We’ll need all our energy for the annual desecration of the war dead’s memory by arguing over who is or isn’t wearing a poppy.

Way to trivialize the poppy, it is not about their memory , it's about their sacrifice, bit of a difference.

The illness hijackers

You've used the word Hijackers several times in this article yet you name no names.

 

Fact is Hugh, you don't even believe a word you typed, it was just an all too easy article to write and pick up a cheque for it.

 

You make a better Vulture than you do a journalist.

[Zappa 0]

That's a fine second post Lachlan and welcome to Gersnet!