It’s fair to say Leigh Griffiths isn’t the most popular man down in Govan.
Make absolutely no mistake. For the past few years in particular, Griffiths has done nothing but treat Rangers and their supporters with utter contempt. There’s no other word for it.
And the fans have felt it.
The fact he has been signed off indefinitely with off-field issues also doesn’t change that. I am not going to muse over what they are, but as someone who has struggled with mental health issues myself, he must be going through some kind of personal hell to come away from the game he loves. At a club he clearly loves too.
I genuinely hope he recovers, because there are some things more important than football.
That said, Rangers and their supporters do not need be patronised by the press. There have been stories galore of people singing this or saying that, and it’s tiresome.
An indictment of the game in Scotland?
There’s not enough fingers and toes in the west of Scotland to count the amount of times songs and vitriol have been aimed at rival players by the skulduggery of some fans. Particularly in moments of weakness.
Very few of the multitude of incidents have been met with the gluttonous self-righteousness against those who goad Griffiths. A man, who with no hint of irony, happily goaded Rangers.
I can’t recall any Old Firm player who consistently approached either club and their supporters with the same kind of vulgar contempt Griffiths does to Rangers. Nor one who wiped their nose on a rival club crest. It shrieked disrespect right into fans faces. Let’s not get started on the scarf on posts thing.
Not that any of this makes offensive singing ok or that I’m defending it. But this is why it astounds me people are surprised Rangers fans aren’t out laying candles for the striker.
Yes, there is absolutely no need to return the vitriol. No need to return the contempt. This is a man clearly on his knees and who needs help, and the space to get it. Rise above and all the rest. But I’m old enough to know that’s not how it works here.
It’s also unlikely to stop. The singing, or the pigeon-holing of Rangers fans as a result. And that may well include from Griffiths. Whether it’s one or one thousand, in many people’s minds we’re all the same.
But there’s a simple truth here that this posturing completely avoids.
Rangers fans don’t like Leigh Griffiths, and Leigh Griffiths doesn’t like Rangers fans. Why pretend any different?
