The Rangers Supporters Trust

Rangers FC and Rangers Lotto have kindly offered a 25% discount for RST members to buy an Ibrox brick.

The brick buying initiative has, over the years, proven to be very popular amongst fans wanting to buy a Rangers supporting loved-one an unusual kind of gift.

Stadium Bricks usually retail for a standard price of £40 but Trust members on quoting their membership number will receive their brick for only £30.

You can order your discounted bricks via this hotline - 0870 600 1928. This discount is available for a limited period only.

Some of our members returning from Bratislava, have contacted the Trust regarding various problems they experienced both trying to get into the stadium and once in the ground itself. Ergo, they have asked us to raise their concerns with the club.

Therefore we are keen to get as wide a range of views from both RST members and indeed the wider Rangers family, on events, before we do so, in order to gauge the actual extent of the problem and allow us to draw up an accurate report.

If you have any information you think would help, please contact us as soon as possible.

Please find below the RST's letter to the Rangers chairman expressing our concerns regarding Rangers supporters' well-being at the Bratislava game of Tuesday night.

Dear Mr Murray,

It is with considerable regret that I write concerning major problems with arrangements and facilities for accessing the Stadium experienced by most Rangers supporters who made the trip to Bratislava.

I sincerely hope you will intervene in this matter, particularly with those Club employees nominally responsible for fans’ safety, security and stewarding away from home - it is obvious from the considerable amount of feedback we have received from Trust members that current arrangements are completely unsatisfactorily and that remedial action is required to ensure that this is not repeated.

Specific concerns raised with us include;

• Only 2 entrances being made available for over 3,000 supporters to use
• The complete lack of any stewarding presence outside the Stadium
• Police and stewards unwilling/refusing to assist with managing the queue
• Inadequate lighting outside, inside and near the stadium
• Supporters with valid tickets for the Stadium being refused entry and told to go to the already overcrowded section containing the Rangers support – yet many supporters being allowed access to these very same areas on an apparently random basis
• Supporters attempting to use the entrance adjacent (on the right) to the CH5 entrance being refused entry, when this entrance provided access to the relevant section of the ground
• No-one from the Rangers Travel Club/Rock Steady/Rangers FC being available outside the ground before kick-off when liaison could have prevented crushing and many of the problems experienced
• Queue-jumping, crushing and scuffles due to non-existent stewarding
• Injuries caused to supporters by the above

We would specifically ask that those involved in the preliminary visit to the Stadium be asked to explain why the arrangements made proved inadequate and also why the Bratislavan authorities responsible for access failed in their most basic duty of care in ensuring safe, legal access to the Stadium?

As an immediate measure the Trust suggests that at least 2 suitable fan representatives are included in any future preliminary visits to Stadia in the hope that the more obvious problems experienced by travelling supporters can be either properly managed or prevented before they occur. The Trust believes it is vital that the knowledge of people with experience at the sharp end of visiting European venues is fully utilised.

The Trust hopes that an objective examination of what took place earlier this week will help avoid the situation where European travel becomes a recurring cause of discontent and anger and I am sure you will recall the assurances given by Martin Bain at the 2004 Club AGM in respect of a similar fiasco experienced by supporters travelling to Stuttgart, when he said that the necessary steps would be taken to prevent this reoccurring.

Rangers supporters have travelled abroad in large numbers for over 4 decades now and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future. In the view of the Rangers Supporters’ Trust it is vital that the Club shows both the necessary concern and resources invested in ensuring safety and security for all those travelling outside the UK.

While our investigation goes on into the Bratislava farce of last week, the Trust would like to make available our report into the similar dangers the Rangers travelling support had to endure 2 years ago in Germany.

We were contacted today by Lawrence MacIntyre (RFC Head of Safety) regarding the treatment of the Rangers support in Bratislava.

As a result, on his return from holiday a week on Friday, he will be meeting with the Trust board to discuss this in serious issue in more detail.

The Rangers Supporters Trust is contacting Strathclyde Police and other authorities ahead of this weekend’s Old Firm match due to the concerns raised by many Rangers fans after last Wednesday’s Ranges/Celtic clash were police appeared to be both heavy-handed and operating to a political agenda.

Rangers fans were NINETY times more likely to be arrested than spectators in the home areas and this cannot be adequately explained by an impartial application of the law and common sense. The suspicion is that other factors are driving police operations inside Parkhead and that this may not be unconnected with the visit to the ground by a delegation of MSPs.

Rangers fans are simply not prepared to be treated like second class citizens for the sake of a political agenda driven by the personal prejudice of a coterie of politicians. The match commander commented that sectarian singing was more noticeable in the Rangers section whereas video evidence clearly demonstrates a high level of vocal support for banned terrorist organisations emanating from the home support throughout the game which did not attract the same methods of policing.

In particular it is interesting to note the high level of arrests compared with previous games - have the police been previously negligent to offences which are in any event covered by existing laws? Also of interest are the numbers of those arrested being released without charge. Would the match commander care to comment on how many of those arrested are actually subject of a report to the fiscal?

The RST is calling for Rangers fans who witnessed abuses of police powers at the CIS League Cup clash to come forward to assist their fellow fans who have been unfairly arrested. A description of any untoward incidents can be sent to the RST at

http://www.rangerssupporterstrust.co.uk/contact.php

and they will hopefully match the evidence to accused persons - by providing evidence you will help to ensure fellow fans are no wrongly convicted.

If there is a repetition of the biased and heavy-handed approach at the forthcoming match at parkhead on Saturday the RST is calling for fans to remain calm whatever the provocation. However, if you are witness to an abuse of police powers please contact the RST with a calm and factual account of the incident citing if you can any officers shoulder badge number. Those arrested should say nothing until released or legal advice has been obtained - and let the RST know of your problems. Videophone evidence may prove crucial.

Tragic incidents in our history means Rangers supporters are more conscious than most groups of fans for the need for good order inside a football stadium - but that principle is no excuse for the exercise of arbitrary power by the authorities. Any serving police officer unhappy at orders issued which are not compatible with impartial enforcement of the law can contact the Trust in complete confidence to let us know of anything untoward.

If you have any comments or suggestions regarding these, please contact us through the site and we'll take your thoughts on board. Keep an eye on the Trust site for the latest news regarding this exciting venture.

Similar to our Stuttgart report of 2 years ago, the RST have compiled a report into the unacceptable security arrangements for Rangers fans in Bratislava earlier this season.

The Rangers Supporters' Trust congratulates the Rangers support which backed our team so magnificently at Celtic Park on Saturday 19 November, showing more than seven times their number just what the word 'supporter' actually means.

We also note with approval that the number of arrests for allegedly sectarian offences fell by four fifths from 50 to only 10, a reduced figure which will be welcomed by all reasonable observers.

The Trust now looks forward to responses from Strathclyde Police, Rangers FC and Jack McConnell to the detailed and specific points we raised with them immediately following the CIS Cup game at Parkhead on 9 November.

We would welcome an open and public discussion not just about policing and the consistent application of the law to football supporters, but also on the complex, deep-rooted and centuries old problems of sectarianism and bigotry within Scottish society. If prejudice is to be tackled then it must be done honestly, openly and in a way which commands the support of all parts of the community and doesn't simply seek to blame one group of football fans for all the ills of modern society.

Finally, we would like to publicly thank Gerry McNee for his ill-judged and inaccurate article about the Trust in The News Of The World on Sunday 20 November, which helped boost the membership of the Trust by a significant number. You can view the article by clicking the image below.

The Trust would like to attract your attention to a new singing section project from Trust member, George Gilmour.

Fellow bears, I come to you with a plea. It is now time to make Ibrox a fortress again. We are renowned for our fantastic European night at Ibrox and also for our Old Firm games. But what about when the team need us in our bread and butter games. The games like Falkirk and Dundee United are games we really need to show our vocal support to our great club.

With your help this will no longer be the case. Ladies and gentlemen I give you,

The aim of this project is to improve the atmosphere of our stand, to bring colour to it and to remove the unwanted tag of sandwich munchers. This as a whole will bring noise to the stadium and will show the players and the other stands that we can make as much noise as them. No longer will we be embarrassed to shout our team to victory; no longer will we accept being asked to stop the shouting. Why should we???

I have formed the website below which also has a message board. Appreciation will be shown to all that are interested in this project and also to the bears who take their time to register for the forums. The more members the better for the site.

A meeting has been held with the club and 56 seats have been allocated for us to move into as soon as the Hearts game in December. Bond holders welcome as their Bond will not be harmed. Their season ticket is simply transferred to the singing section and can be retransferred if required. Their seat is theirs for life and will always have the option to move back there.

The Trust will be holding it's next "Open Day" in Ibrox Primary School, before we play Hearts in the SPL on Saturday 17 December. Doors will be open from 12noon, and several Trust Board members will be on duty that day to deal with your concerns, or answer any queries you may have on the Rangers Supporters Trust. New Members can join on the day, and become a Rangers shareholder.

There are several interesting current issues to discuss and every Rangers fan will be particularly interested in the forthcoming ShareSave initiative. As such our chairman, Malcolm McNiven, will be giving a presentation on the proposed scheme from 12.30pm.

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