mayhem in manchester

Good and bad side of Scottish football

Published:

IN THE space of a few hours, the best and worst of Scottish football was on show. Unfortunately, the world was watching. Rangers’ defeat in the Uefa Cup final triggered brutal scenes in the streets of Manchester as so-called fans engaged in running battles with police.

It has been a long time since supporters of a Scottish team have been involved in such violence on the European stage.

As calm returned to Manchester yesterday morning, news was broken in Glasgow of the death of Tommy Burns.

His death from cancer brought out the best in football supporters in Scotland.

Tributes were laid at the gates of Celtic Park from the club’s fans but also from representatives of every Scottish team, including Rangers.

His contribution to football and his strength in coping with illness were well remembered.

While the scenes from Parkhead will do much for the reputation of Scottish football, it might not be enough to cancel out the damage caused by the mayhem in Manchester.

Alex Salmond has called for a wide-ranging inquiry into the events and there are certainly questions about security, organisation and the backgrounds of those attending that need answers.

Those arrested were not Ibrox season-ticket holders and that will be a relief to the club. But there is hard work ahead to repair the damage to the Rangers brand.

If European finals are to be a regular part of Rangers’ seasons, then a way will have to be found of ensuring troublemakers do not infiltrate true supporters.