Judy Murray would be beside herself if she knew how quickly tennis balls were selling in the west of Scotland these days and let’s hope no spoilsport would tell her the real reason they are in fashion. For a different racket entirely. And all that stockpiling and hoarding of toilet paper at the start of Covid-19 might have had nothing to do with pandemic panic after all.
Lobbing tennis balls and bog roll on to the pitch wasn’t big or clever from the Rangers fans at Dens Park — it is wasn’t even imaginative given that Celtic fans had hurled Slazengers and Dunlops from exactly the same stand in November — but, as non-violent disruption, it was certainly impossible to ignore.
Rangers need to get a grip on an issue which could quickly spiral even further away from them. Judging by the sulphurous social media reaction to the statement they put out yesterday they won’t shut anything down by referring to a section of the fans as a “rump” and putting inverted commas around the word supporters, regardless of whether or not they see them as a troublesome awkward squad who don’t speak for the majority.
This is going to take tact and conciliation. It is going to take them saying OK, sing that we can stick our effin‘ Australian friendly where the sun don’t shine if you have to, but please stop the stunts which disrupt games when we’re pushing hard to stay in a title race. The latter point should land easily enough given the widespread exasperation to the second and especially third waves of toilet roll at Dens Park. Allan McGregor isn’t usually held up as one of the great commentators on modern society but plenty agreed with his two-word assessment of the culprits.
These are febrile, tense times around Rangers despite them being within reach of a domestic double, a £30 million-plus windfall and something extraordinary in the Europa League. The closeness at the top of the league means everyone is running high and issues are bubbling up. Many supporters recognise Club 1872’s complaints about being treated like a cash cow by Rangers: it wouldn’t have entirely surprised them if yesterday’s club statement had been printed on a limited edition commemorative shirt soon available in the megastore. Others see Club 1872 itself as fractious and agenda-driven and not only aligned with the estranged former Rangers chairman Dave King but dancing to his tune. When it came to yesterday’s little battle of statements, there was suspicion and cynicism towards both sides.
Advertisement
When Rangers call for unity — “together we are strong”, as they put it — they will find a receptive audience. None of their fans wants to impair Giovanni van Bronckhorst and his players in the pursuit of the title but this business in Australia is quite an elephant in the room. If Rangers do privately reach out to those they believe are leading the agitation and the protests then how can they appease them short of confirming that the game against Celtic in Sydney is off? And if they do withdraw from the tournament how can they make sure that is presented as an act of decisiveness and of listening to the supporters rather than one of buckling and damage limitation? Either they plough on and hope for the best or they pull out, making it known that their lawyers successfully argued the goalposts were moved and a Barbie Derby tribute to big Ange wasn’t exactly in the contract they signed.
The notion of an Old Firm friendly in Australia need not have been as toxic as this. There is nothing outrageous about the concept and plenty of fans are quietly fine with it even if to say so on social media would invite a pile-on. To some it would be an overdue reward for Rangers fans based in Australia. It would generate decent money and make Rangers look like a club able to lift its head above a west of Scotland parapet and look outwards for once.
What sunk it as a sellable idea was the disaster of letting the public relations run away from them to the extent it became perceived as a Celtic production, “Ange’s Homecoming”, with Rangers bolted on as one of the support acts receiving a smaller appearance fee.
This had to be about a synchronised launch and Rangers, Celtic and the Australian promoters all using the same template in terms of text and prominence (easier said than done, of course, when around these parts the terms “Old Firm” and “Glasgow derby” might as well be as loaded as Derry and Londonderry). Without full promotional co-operation it was guaranteed that one side or other would be up in arms. Or even more up in arms than the other lot. As it turned out Celtic seemed to do a PR number on Rangers to the extent that Celtic fan protests against it are now less prominent. This is from the tried and tested calculation that anything which so outrages the other half of Glasgow might have something going for it from their own point of view.
Those who hope for a grown-up relationship between the clubs themselves, if not their fans, could only despair at the Celtic official announcement on the Sydney Super Cup not mentioning Rangers at all and only making reference to a Glasgow derby once, eight pars down. That was infantile and amounted to simultaneously pandering to their own fanbase while insulting its intelligence. The back channels between the two clubs are not what they used to be, which is why there is also mutual suspicion about the 700 away allocations at the derbies.
Advertisement
At a time when protestors are zip-tying themselves to goalposts Rangers need to calm an agitated section of their support which is doubtless figuring out more imaginative ways to get its point across. They can live with chants and banners about Australia but three imminent Old Firm games offer a worrying platform for disruption.
Murrayfield will muscle in on 32-team Euros
Euro 2028 will be something to look forward to, a bit of excitement on the distant horizon. Being in literally a one-horse race to host it is the sort of contest where Scotland is at its best.
At a 24-team Euros there are usually ten venues (ideally holding 30,000-or-more) so a joint tournament among the four home nations and the Republic of Ireland would have to involve the national stadiums in Hampden, Cardiff, Belfast and Dublin. Throw in Wembley and that leaves five more to find: Newcastle, Old Trafford, Tottenham, Villa Park and Anfield? Hampden could expect three or four group games and then the horse-trading would begin. A last 16 and a quarter-final too? Or push our luck for a semi-final? Over to the SFA.
And if the tournament expands as expected to 32 teams, and needs more venues, it won’t be Celtic Park or Ibrox coming into contention but Murrayfield because the Scottish government will insist. A fine and vast stadium, and good to have Edinburgh involved, but how depressing if a rugby-only ground is bolted on to what should be one of Scottish football’s great occasions.
