DAVID MURRAY, the Rangers chairman, last night responded vigorously to criticism of the club’s supporters made by Martin O’Neill, the Celtic manager. In a statement on the Rangers website, Murray said: “Much has been reported in the media on last Saturday’s match. It is correct the SFA will analyse in detail events both on and off the pitch. “We should, without doubt, guard against broad generalisations by individuals that endeavour to blacken the name of Rangers FC and stereotype our fans as racist bigots. This is not acceptable.” Earlier in the day Alex McLeish, the Rangers manager, declined to comment on the issue after being advised by Murray and the Ibrox board. Murray continued his defence of the fans by saying: “The vast majority of those that support and follow our club are decent, respectable people and it would be wrong for me just to sit back and allow them to be condemned in this way. “Collectively, we should remind ourselves that there remains a minimum of two Old Firm games still to be played and both clubs should appreciate their responsibility in ensuring safety and fair play, irrespective of the result.” The SFA yesterday invited Celtic to make an official complaint over their claim that there had been “racial and sectarian” abuse targeted at Neil Lennon, the Catholic midfield player. And the SFA also made it clear that O’Neill would not be facing charges of bringing the game into disrepute for making the controversial accusation in the first place. The police have also said they have no plans to speak to any of the players.
IF MON said it happened it happened. That shouldn't have the SFA (rangers boys club) for saying the accusation is controversial. Lennon has come under all sorts of abuse since his move to Scotland the worst coming from the Rangers supporters.
yup, thats about the size of it. And there is certainly nothing racist about chanting Neil Lennon, yer a whanker, yer a whanker!
I agree about the Lennon stuff, he's a dirty, cheating, moaning ********, so he's going to get bood wherever he goes for it. I can't beleive that he's never been called a fenian bastard (or something similar) at Ibrox, and probably a couple of other grounds. Moaning that Rangers fans were racially abusing Neil Lennon is laughable. David Murray has to come out and say that though dosen't he. Rangers fans aren't bigots but chants of "Cheer up Martin O'Neil, oh what can it mean to a sad fenian bastard...." ring out, clearly audible at the next few games??? Rangers fans are mostly decent people, but don't say anything about them or there'll be mayhem at the next game.
Jeusus, get a grip. I love O'Neill and all but I'm not willing to give ANYONE that much benefit of the doubt. And as much as I like Neil Lennon, I'll also be the first to admin that he has given opposing fans plenty of reason to boo him other than his ethnicity.
Lennon is a great player and the fact he gets under the skin of other teams and their support means he is doing his job. I hope Celtic can get him signed for another 3-5 years, we need him, although it would be nice if he bagged a few more goals.
Lennon does his job well he is not dirty. And we all know why he's booed so lets not kid ourselves. Lovenkrands is more of a dirty player then Lennon, but doesn't get as abused does he?
Do you have your head in the sand ... Dirty pricks in Rangers tops get booed just as much as the ones in hoops tops .. The difference is Eck doesn't whine that it's some sort of rascist pish .. You must be one of those Celtic supporters who claimed Dundee were sectarian when they played the Great Escape at the match on sunday . Turns out that it was in fact the movie soundtrack and the morons thought the whistling was flutes .. bunch of knobs ..... Should also note that Dundee are owned and managed by Catholics ...
I have no problem with the theme from the great escape, it's fits dundee they were luck to escape with a point. I don't care if Dundee is owned by Catholic's or not, i'm a protestant Celtic supporter.
Do you not think the reason that Lennon gets abuse is due to the fact that he is a pretty good players and is also a bit of a c u n t on the pitch. Has that never crossed your mind? Incidentally this thing about Rangers fans supporting England is a lot of sh1te. It is certainly very much a minority. I personally only know of one fan that does.
Whenever the tv hit Ibrox all you see is union jacks, where are the Scottish ones? Lennon is a great player i won't argue that point but he doesn't play any different the Rangers players, and if Lennon is a C**T then you have 11 of them on your pitch everyweek.
LMFAO!!!! I was following this thread from a distance, good banter back and forth, interesting opinions put forward from both camps and then this beauty....... PPWWWWWOOOOOOFFFFFF!!!!! An absolute clanger from CB67 that puts any and all credibility he may have garnered during the discussion right out the window! Dear, oh dear......taxi for CB67.
There were a few Scotland "LION" flags when Celtic went to Barcelona in the CL this season. Should there be more of course,Celtic are a Scottish team.
You saying Lovenkrands isn't dirty? with his fall down antics, he is more suited for the World Wrestling Entertainment business then the SPL.
There are a few saltires/ lion rampants brought to OF games, the point is though their support is flooded with Union Jacks/Tricoulors and Ireland/England shirts. The problem lies equally with both sides. One thing I will say is that Union Jacks can be found at other grounds (just to show I'm not biased against the OF). Hearts, Airdrie and Falkirk are all known to fly UJs. Although it is not on the same level as the OF, as far as I know. Airdrie traditionally have a very right wing support, Airdrie is, of course, an area which is well known for being mainly protestant and contains loads of Rangers fans although I disagree with calling anyone who follows any team a "Hun without the busfare", as it certainly dosen't cost much for a bus ticket to Glasgow. Everybody knows that Hearts have a protestant/unionist element although I would always argue that it is much smaller than Ranger's and does not engulf the whole club, the way it does at Ibrox. I have no idea what goes on at Falkirk.
I agree about Hearts, but they are a smaller club then Rangers. and the huns without busfare are usually saved for the Hearts supporters,but im sure they have been called worse. I don't really see why scotland worries if Celtic /Rangers fans support the national team? we all have our reasons, i won't cause i won't support a team with a Rangers player or past Rangers player on it and im sure a lot of people feel the same way and vice versa for the IBROX mob. I would like to see Scotland be a forve again just to quite the English fans if nothing else. Their fans are great supporters who don't bring trouble to their side unlike their English counterparts.
Yes, but it still doesn't play such a big part in the club, like it does with Rangers. I know why some people call them that, I just find it pathetic. I don't know about you, but I take my national pride and my football seriously, any Scot who supports another country due to the club team they support is a traitor in my book and I despis them. Aye, you have a reason, you're not Scottish are you. Are you? Do you realise how pathetic that is? Didn't you support Celtic when Gordon Marshall or Frank McAvennie played for them. I supopse you didn't support Celtic when Kenny Dalglish (a Rangers fan) played for them. Another thing, any one of your players would be Rangers players right now if they had come in with an earlier or better bid, your hero Hartson for example. Don't worry, I know why you say that, you want to make the OF rivalry sound more serious than it is, I know people who do that. I take my football rivalries seriously too, but I'm not a retard so don't come away with rubbish like that. I'm starting to agree with OttwaBear's assesment of you.