Rangers have taken action following Nicola Sturgeon’s warning regarding Sunday’s Old Firm, with the club holding talks with ‘supporters groups and key influencers’ on Tuesday morning [Rangers FC Twitter].
The First Minister addressed both the Gers and Celtic in a briefing earlier this week, amid talk that the weekend fixture at Parkhead could be postponed if it was thought that supporters from either side intended to breach Covid regulations.
“I welcome the statements by both Rangers – and of course it was Rangers fans that were gathering a week or so ago – and also the statements that were made yesterday by Celtic, urging and being direct in their urging to fans to stay at home,” said Sturgeon [Scottish Sun].
“I hope the clubs will continue that over the next few days. It’s not just a one statement and the work is done. As we know from experience in the last year these communications are really important on an ongoing basis.”
By way of response, Rangers are making it abundantly clear that they are holding up their end of the bargain.
The club tweeted on Tuesday morning revealing that they had spoken to various groups and prominent individuals to get a feel for supporter sentiment, before reporting that all involved in the meeting had backed the ‘stay at home’ message.
In the afternoon, the club released a video featuring a number of first-team players that hammered home the message and a few hours later, Steven Gerrard’s own message to the fanbase was tweeted out once again.
Celtic’s social media channels were relatively quiet in comparison until Kristoffer Ajer delivered a ‘Stay at home’ message to Hoops supporters in the evening.
While Sturgeon insisted earlier in the week that a decision hadn’t yet been made on the Old Firm as discussions with the clubs and Police Scotland continued, there’s next to no chance of the fixture being postponed, while fan gatherings of the scale seen earlier this month have always been unlikely.
Here’s a selection of reactions to the ‘Stay at Home’ video that featured a host of Rangers first-team stars.
