A disgruntled parent has complained to an online Rangers Facebook group after defender Calvin Bassey failed to give a child his kit in the recent 3-0 win over Dundee.
The entire thing centres around the kid making a sign and asking the Rangers star to part with his top as a memento from the match.
It’s a heavily Americanised fad that is rapidly spreading across British football and we’re seeing it in stadiums up and down the country.
But as the requests become more and more common fans need to start considering the pressure they’re putting themselves and their heroes under.
We get it. The kid makes up a sign and dreams of getting the top only to be disappointed when it doesn’t happen, despite the fact Rangers won the match.
But there’s no God-given right to this and whilst we’re sure Calvin Bassey would’ve been delighted to oblige – as he did to a kid against Dortmund and perhaps got collared for – we can see why there’s a growing nervousness surrounding the trend.
This sign fad follows on from child pitch invasions that saw youngsters enter the field of play and ask players for their jerseys earlier in the season.
Whilst again this is happening all over the country, the best Rangers example is that of Aaron Ramsey handing a kid his jersey in the 3-0 win over Annan Athletic.
But this was quickly nipped in the bud when Rangers were fined by UEFA after a child entered the field of play during the Europa League clash with Dortmund at Ibroxl.
Rangers instruct players not to provide kit “to anyone entering the pitch area”
The club issued a statement claiming they’d be taking a “zero tolerance” approach to this in the future and that any parents assisting kids would be subject to disciplinary policy [Rangers].
You have to say since then, the message must surely have been not to respond, adding “our players have been advised that they should not provide a shirt to any spectator entering the pitch area”.
For clubs the rules are clear and punishments are not worth it, nor is the potential eventuality of something going wrong as a result of a player crossing the boundary to supporters.
However, Alfredo Morelos offered his jersey to a fan at the end of the Dundee game, sending something of a mixed message and perhaps fuelling this disgruntled fan’s anger.
Whilst on the surface the entire thing seems harmless, fans have got to consider club, UEFA and SFA policy here and the potential impact of something going wrong.
Perhaps part of this is greater clarity but the signs at games aren’t going anywhere as things stand and the situation calls for greater leadership.
Rangers and the players are in a thankless position with this kit sign fad too; damned by the authorities and Heathy and Safety if they do, damned by supporters if they don’t.
A solution such as kits being collected post-match or as part of a raffle might be a better one but this entire thing is already proving it’s going to end in tears one way or another.
Meanwhile, Rangers fans have adopted a new chant to the tune of a song that came to prominence in a classic Quentin Tarantino movie.
