Rangers have written to First Minister Nicola Sturgeon “expressing concerns” after the club was accused of a “deafening silence” after fans partied long into Monday following league title win – and have also raised concerns over claims UEFA were “watching” the Gers fans celebrate.
According to ITV’s Peter Adam Smith [Twitter], the Gers wrote to Ms. Sturgeon following comments made by her deputy John Swinney yesterday following the scenes in George Square, with the suggestion by Justice Minister Humza Yousaf that the celebrations could cause UEFA to withdraw from hosting Euro 2020 games in Glasgow – which UEFA have distanced themselves from – also brought up.
The club had released a statement yesterday reiterating its commitment to work with the relevant stakeholders to avoid issues should the club achieve other “significant milestones” while also pointing out that they had previously tried to engage with police, football authorities and the Scottish government over the prospect of fans gathering to celebrate.
Fans gathered outside Ibrox on Saturday and Sunday, as well as in George Square in Glasgow as the first title in a decade prompted jubilant scenes from Rangers supporters.
Despite the finger-pointing from elsewhere, Rangers have been clear that they didn’t want fans to gather when the title was confirmed, with Gerrard speaking directly to fans before the Light Blues faced St. Mirren on Saturday.
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The club say they “specifically liaised with police & ScotGov about how to utilise manager Steven Gerrard’s profile to reach fans with messaging” to avoid exactly what unfolded over the weekend and called the accusation the club had done nothing “inaccurate, unbalanced, and unfair.”
Comments from Humza Yousaf and Jason Leitch claiming the celebrations could impact the Euro 2020 games due to take place in Glasgow were called “disingenuous” after Rangers News exclusively revealed that UEFA remained committed to the cities originally selected to host games last summer.
Since Rangers’ letter, a Scottish Government statement has confirmed that Minister for Sport Mairi Gougeon has met with the SFA and SPFL to “discuss the weekend’s events, saying: “The Justice Secretary will be continuing a dialogue with both Police Scotland and Rangers FC to understand how these events took place, what actions are now being taken to identify those responsible; and what more can be done to avoid this reoccurring at upcoming events.
“The Minister for Sport has also met with the SFA and SPFL to discuss this weekend’s events.”
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