Rangers have claimed that an anti-police protest was at the centre of the latest Union Bears controversy as the Ibrox fans’ group rail against sporting director Ross Wilson.
Alongside Police Scotland, the Gers prevented the vocal Ibrox fans group from entering the stadium with a series of banners, including one which was aimed at the Ibrox recruitment chief.
This led to the group boycotting the Scottish Cup clash with Raith Rovers at Ibrox, before releasing a statement around the game criticising the suppression of fan views.
The Union Bears statement reads as below and was shared alongside a banner reading “ROSS WILSON, DIRECTOR OF FAILURE”:
“Union Bears had planned to display various legitimate message banners at today’s match highlighting different issues surrounding our club and support.
“Prior to the match, Police Scotland and Rangers FC jointly removed these materials without our knowledge and blocked access to regular matchday materials.
“From Rangers FC, this is a clear breakdown of trust and an attempt to silence our groups valid concerns.
“As a consequence, we made the difficult decision to remove active support and not enter the ground as a group.
“This attempt to suppress the feelings amongst the Rangers support will not be successful, and only stands to concerns that the fans hold.”
Rangers respond to Union Bears protest
Whilst a protest aimed at sporting director Ross Wilson was the basis of the Union Bears’ statement, the Ibrox side themselves claim anti-police messaging was the real reason why the materials were removed.
In a statement, the Gers didn’t make any mention of the Union Bears’ criticism of Ross Wilson, with the fans group seemingly making a rod for their own back by needlessly involving the Police.
“Rangers refused to allow an offensive banner relating to the police service to be displayed at today’s match,” reads a Rangers statement.
“The UB elected to absent themselves from the stadium because the Club would not permit the offensive anti-police banner display.”
The Herald have since claimed that the banner involved depicted a police officer as a pig whilst it used offensive language slogans against the police service.
Take police politics elsewhere as Ross Wilson let off hook
If there is anyone who comes off looking worse from all this, then it’s the Union Bears.
Whilst protests against Ross Wilson are certainly legitimate – the last three transfer windows prior to January failing to deliver for the club – to use Ibrox as a vessel for these childish police protests smacks of a lack of maturity within the group’s leadership.
It also smacks of a deep lack of respect for the club itself.
To then try and use the legitimate Ross Wilson protest to further inflame fans after the fact, without taking proper responsibility for the Police Scotland banners, is further evidence of a childishness within the group’s ranks.
Rangers as a football club should be focusing on football matters with the club’s support drawn from across the political and societal spectrum.
For the Union Bears to be so entitled to think that they can leverage a legitimate protest against an illegitimate one has severely backfired and if this is the level of engagement and protest we can expect in the future perhaps they’re better making their stadium boycott a permanent one.
The group do so much good for the club, from impressive banners, tifos and pyrotechnics to drumming up the Ibrox atmosphere, but these sorts of issues continue to let them down.
Whilst issues surrounding the policing of football matches are legitimate, there are ways and means of suitably doing this and from the surrounding reports, Rangers appear to have gotten this one right.
Meanwhile, Castore have signed a new partnership south of the border.
