RANGERS have hit out at a "small minority" of fans who besmirched the good name of the club during violent scenes in Glasgow.
Bosses at the Ibrox club have criticised supporters who fought with one another and clashed with police while celebrating the team's first major league title in a decade on Saturday. Others shouted vile anti-Catholic slogans and damaged property in the city.
Nearly 30 arrests have already been made by police and officers have warned more are on the way.
READ MORE: Rioting Rangers fans should be banned, says top police officer
In a statement published this morning, Rangers said: "Winning our 55th league title in our 150th year was a historic day for Rangers Football Club. The support from millions of our fans across the world has been incredible.
"The achievement by Steven Gerrard and his team has received plaudits from across the football family, including recognition by sports writers, opposition players and managers.
READ MORE: John Swinney condemns ‘absolutely reprehensible’ conduct of Rangers fans
"We are grateful to Scottish Government officials, Glasgow City Council and Police Scotland for the constructive engagement in the lead up to the weekend’s game. We worked closely with the authorities for two weeks before Saturday’s match to ensure a consistency of message.
"Sadly, a small minority of people behaved inappropriately and in a manner not reflective of our support.
"Some of the scenes were unacceptable and have besmirched the good name of Rangers Football Club.
"These so called “fans” should reflect upon the values and ethos of our club, and consider the damage this does to the reputation of the club.
"We will continue to engage with authorities as required."
As well as clashing with police, a section of the supporters shouted vile anti-Catholic slogans and damaged property in the city. It forced a number of businesses to shut up shop early and send staff home over fears for their safety.
The scenes have been widely condemned from across the political spectrum and by some of the country's most senior officers.
Speaking earlier today, John Swinney, the deputy first minister, said: "I am limited in what I can say because of the ongoing police investigation. But the conduct on Saturday was absolutely reprehensible.
"There was no need for them to gather. The warnings were given very clearly not to do and 15,000 fans did not follow that advice and then some went onto behave in a loutish fashion in George Square, devastating property and circulating vile anti-Catholic bigotry.
"The warnings were very clearly given and given by all interested parties."
Scottish FA president Rod Petrie said: "While the majority of the club’s fan base will have celebrated this achievement safely and in line with Covid-19 guidelines across the country and beyond, the scenes witnessed in and around Glasgow’s George Square have brought embarrassment to the national game."
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel