PHILIPPE Clement has appealed to Rangers ultras not to set off pyrotechnics at the Viaplay Cup semi-final match against Hearts at Hampden on Sunday afternoon.
The Belgian urged followers of the Ibrox club to concentrate on backing his players on the park after the cinch Premiership game against Dundee at Dens Park on Wednesday night was temporarily stopped due to flares triggering fire alarms in the Bob Shankly Stand.
The mass display drew condemnation from Police Scotland, the SFL, the Scottish government and the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service and major stakeholders in the game in this country are set to hold a summit on the growing problem in the coming weeks.
Clement, the Belgian who took over from Michael Beale at Ibrox last month, knows that showpiece cup matches at Hampden often see the hardcore element among a club’s fanbase organise a coordinated display.
READ MORE: SFA & SPFL Hampden pyro warning after Rangers fans' flares
The 49-year-old, whose team won their midweek match 5-0 once play resumed to remain five points behind Celtic at the top of the league table, is concerned for the wellbeing of fans and has stressed that flares and smoke bombs are not needed or wanted at football.
“I think I was clear with what I said after the game,” he said. “I loved how we came in to Dundee, had a lot of supporters and a lot of atmosphere. The songs and chants give the team energy.
“But the pyro thing we don’t need. It doesn’t give something extra. It’s dangerous. So if they give all the other things, I’ll be a very satisfied manager.”
“I’ve seen it a lot in the past. But it’s good there are strict rules because we need to avoid the danger for people.”
READ MORE: Rangers send pyro message as club warns ultras 'risk arrest'
Meanwhile, Clement has confirmed that Rangers centre half Ben Davies had missed the Dundee match and been replaced by Leon Balogun due to a minor knock.
“He had a small problem,” he said. “The medical staff told me it could be a risk to play him. I don’t want to take risks in those moments to then lose a player for several weeks.
“But we got a good win. It’s always good to get confidence, but it’s never a guarantee. We know it’s a hard challenge against Hearts. We need to keep doing what we’ve been doing.
“We’re just focusing on the game, not thinking about silverware. We’re just focusing on what we need to do, with and without the ball.”
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