Why PR spin will not cure the klan

It was long ago, and the world was younger; indeed, Rangers FC was still alive.

In 2006 the wise chaps at UEFA considered the appropriateness of the favourite anthem of the Ibrox klanbase The Billy Boys.

This was because the club had been charged after the song had been sung in a Champions League match against Villarreal.

As I recall, most commentators in Scottish Football expected a guilty verdict to be handed down.

Instead, the club was cleared.

UEFA reasoned that the song was culturally tolerated in Fair Caledonia.

“In examining the alleged discriminatory chants, the control & disciplinary body admitted that the nature of the song concerned – “Billy Boys” – related to a social problem in Scotland.

“The body also believed that the disciplinary decision in this case had to be taken in the context of Scotland’s social and historical background.

“Given this social and historical context, the control & disciplinary body said it considered that UEFA cannot demand an end to behaviour which has been tolerated for years.

“In view of the above, the control & disciplinary body ruled that, despite the behaviour of its supporters, Rangers FC had not infringed Article 5 of the UEFA disciplinary regulations and cannot be punished according to Article 6.”

Just look at this again:

“The body also believed that the disciplinary decision in this case had to be taken in the context of Scotland’s social and historical background.

“Given this social and historical context, the control & disciplinary body said it considered that UEFA cannot demand an end to behaviour which has been tolerated for years.”

In the first decade of the 21st century, that statement of fact should have been a red flag for all decent people in Scotland.

“…behaviour which has been tolerated for years.”

Indeed so!

After an appeal, the football organisation overturned that ruling, and the Ibrox outfit was told that TBB was indeed considered a breach of Article 5.

That is the ordinance that rules against anything that is racist or discriminatory.

There was a brief absence of TBB amongst the Ibrox klanbase, and they were faced with the appalling proposition about singing about their players.

The poor dears.

So they came up with the Famine Song.

This site is fully searchable, and my journalism on that racist ditty is a matter of public record.

In 2006 the then owner of Rangers David Murray brought in an expensive PR company to cope with the fallout out of the UEFA ruling.

A cynic might conclude that this was to control the reportage rather than address the racism on the Rainjurrz support.

Given the invertebrate nature of the hacks, Mr Murray did not have to shell out on PR invoices.

In recent years TBB  has made a comeback at Sevco matches.

I reported yesterday that on 76 minutes after Joe Aribo had equalised for the ten-year-old club, the visiting fans at Tannadice were once against up to their knees in Fenian blood.

Now, in a totally unconnected development, the shady PR types behind Rangers Fans For Change (RFFC) have today issued a statement on…The Billy Boys!

As regular readers will know, I investigated the RFFC when they first appeared on social media.

A well-placed Sevco source told me that the RFFC  was indeed a PR creation.

The provenance was some concern in the Blue Room about the Ibrox brand being associated with the far right.

My settled view remains that until there is a public face to RFFC this is a PR campaign and not an authentic voice from within the fanbase.

This was my initial reaction on Twitter when I was sent this latest offering.

 

That said, the statement’s assessment of Fullerton, his gang, and the song itself is historically accurate.

Consequently, I am immediately suspicious that the author is not part of Sevco’s clientele.

Until RFFC puts up a spokesperson to be questioned, then I am sticking with what my source told me about the origins of this social media chimera.

Meanwhile, the authentic voice of Ibrox coheres around anti-Irish racism and has more than a passing affection for full-on fascism.

The featured image is of Oswald Mosley in Glasgow Green in 1931.

This was when Fullerton’s gang was at their zenith.

It was in the era of the Church and Nation Committee of the Church of Scotland warning about the dangers of Irish immigration.

Thankfully the Kirk apologised in 2002 for their racism towards the Irish community.

Scotland is a better country than it was when my mother’s family were trying to get by in a very hostile environment.

In 2022, on the cusp of the centenary of that shameful report, it is only where the Ibrox klanbase gather that such hatreds are culturally affirmed.

This is a fixable problem, but it will require real action, not reputational management and PR spin.

16 thoughts on “Why PR spin will not cure the klan”

  1. On a previous thread….one poster thought that Aribo had “blessed himself” after scoring the equaliser at Tannadice.
    Well yes…he did…But in the recent 3-0 hammering of them at CP….I counted 5 and possibly 6 Sevco players “blessing themselves” as they took to the pitch.
    As someone who saw his first game against them in 1957…I can confirm that I grew up in an era where I would have bet money that that would never ever happen.
    So it just makes that vile element of their support hypocrites, as well as morons.
    Oh…and as I’ve said before…No footballer with Catholic or Irish connections should touch Sevco with a barge pole.
    Everyone/Anyone…?
    Shove that up yer jacksey.

    Reply
  2. IF, and on this point I agree Phil, it is a big IF, this group is indeed genuine, I find it fully understandable WHY no one would want to be the public face. To stand up, and state in public, the words written in that statement, would be like painting a big target on your back, front, head and any other part of your anatomy. You would also be painting targets on your family, friends, house and car.

    The so called loyalists – a term which has always puzzled me as I can never work out exactly who they’re loyal to – know no boundaries. There are no limits to who or what they will target.

    To front up this organisation, IF indeed it does exist, would not be beyond brave, it would actually be beyond foolish. It would be an act of gross stupidity.

    In fact the term, “Dead man walking” springs into my mind.

    Reply
  3. Thanks Phil. After reading your article yesterday and hearing the “song” being belted out on the tv coverage we receive here in Australia, I tried searching the SFA website for some kind of link or contact details for their compliance function. Unsurprisingly perhaps there was none, just a phone number for Hampden Park. How can an average person make a complaint to the SFA, so you know? It’s almost as though their opaqueness is intentional to discourage feedback or attempts to hold them to account.

    Reply
  4. Here is an interesting one for you Phil.

    There are two You Tube videos with highlights of the match at Tannadice.

    The ‘official’ SPFL one features a very prominent rendition of the Billy Boys after Rangers scored. Furthermore the fade out sound also features the same song. Someone made a choice to add this fade out sound. I doubt they are unaware of what they were doing.

    The second version, Sky Sports version, does not feature any such musical delights. Does this suggest that someone in the SPFL video highlights deliberately accentuated the offensive song and Sky decided to edit it out.

    Reply
    • Well the fact you know that it was sung by all sections of their away support ,was heard on the SPFL recording and that you can no longer hear it on SKY would seem to suggest that SKY have deliberately removed it 🤷🏻‍♂️

      Reply
  5. Phil after the latest tranche of shares being “made available “ I looked into the amount of shares there are for the tributes, 432328634. And if I’m not being too thick does that not mean the company is valued at roughly £108 million ?

    Reply
    • As far as I’m aware, your calculations would be correct if Sevco were listed on a regulated platform (requiring a NomAd etc etc). But as they’re not, the shares can basically trade for whatever price some eejit is willing to pay for them. Given all the dilutions from multiple issues over the last few years, these shares would trade for probably 5p each on a regulated platform.

      Reply
        • “They’re actually probably “
          Could this be classed as an Ibroxymoron 🤷🏻‍♂️

          You know like the highly regarded negative income they’ve accounted fir every year of their existence 😉

          Reply
    • Hey……fair’s fair!! To take a club that was worth just a pound twelve years ago, and turn it into a club worth £108m is quite an achievement. At least it would be if it was the same club.

      I’ll bet Craig Whyte wishes he’d kept his pound in his pocket…. Ach he probably did.

      Reply
  6. Have this group already changed their name. I can only find rangers fans for more change. They have the same logo on twitter as the header on that statement from RFFC.
    Wonder if they have hired 2 PR companies to do the same job

    Reply

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