Rangers managing director Stewart Robertson has suggested that it is ‘very unlikely’ the club will show next week’s Europa League final on screens at Ibrox.
Tens of thousands of Rangers fans were hoping to head to the stadium to watch the game live from Seville but those hopes now appear to be over.
“It’s very unlikely as most of the staff we’d need to run such a beamback are going to be in Seville so I don’t think that will happen.” Robertson said, as quoted by the Rangers Review.
“As much as we understand the desire of fans to be in one place together to watch it, I don’t think that’s going to be physically possible.”
Howeverm Robertson did say that he hoped there would be “postive news” for fans travelling to Seville, shortly after UEFA pleaded with ticketless fans not to travel, adding: The discussions are well advanced but there is a lot that has to be organised to put these things on. I think there’s maybe a perception you just have a bit of space and the fans go in – sorted. But there’s a lot more to it than that. How do people get there?
“Where is it in relation to Frankfurt fans? How do you ensure basics of food, drinks and toilets etc? There’s a lot that goes into it. Hopefully in the next few days we will have positive news on that. It’s been an eye-opener the amount of work that has gone into this match is incredible from both clubs and UEFA as well as the local authorities.”
Huge disappointment for Rangers fans hoping to watch Europa League final at Ibrox
After hosting a similar event in 2008 when Rangers reached the UEFA Cup final, it seems like a bit of a cop out that there isn’t the staff to have a beamback at Ibrox.
There’s no expectation on many club staff to be there and there’s surely some third-party companies who can provide what Rangers require, even if it is at short notice.
Regardless of whether there is going to be a beamback at Ibrox or not, there’s going to be thousands of fans who congregate at the stadium – with even more likely to arrive if Rangers actually win.
While the club might not be hosting a beamback, they had better be prepared for a huge number of supporters outside the ground if Gio van Bronckhorst’s side are crowned Europa League champions.