Soccer

Rangers hit with second Uefa chanting charge

Rangers face playing two home European games behind closed doors after being hit with a second Uefa disciplinary charge for alleged…

Thu Apr 14 2011 - 01:00

Rangers face playing two home European games behind closed doors after being hit with a second Uefa disciplinary charge for alleged sectarian chanting by their fans.

Rangers chief executive Martin Bain was “astounded” by the action after Uefa opened a case against the club over their Europa League second leg against PSV Eindhoven.

The Scottish champions already face action over the first leg in the Netherlands and Bain claimed they appeared to be the victims of a “concerted and deliberate campaign”.

Rangers disclosed they had been reported on the basis of a report from the Football Against Racism in Europe (Fare) organisation rather than the Uefa match delegate, who was from Northern Ireland.

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That was also the case with the initial case following the first match seven days earlier on March 10th.

An article on the club‘s official website revealed that Rangers face “very punitive” consequences if found guilty, including a heavy fine and two-match ban for their home fans.

However, the club have vowed to defend themselves against both charges.

Bain told www.rangersfc.co.uk: “We are absolutely astounded by this latest development and will defend our club’s position very, very vigorously.

“We are still in the process of preparing our submission on the away game and to be confronted with this now seems chaotic to say the least.

“We have never said that sectarian singing is not a problem but this now has all the hallmarks of a deliberate and targeted campaign against the club.

“What else are we expected to believe when Uefa officials give us favourable reports at our matches only to indict us later on the evidence of an outside unaccountable body?”

Fare is a Europe-wide organisation started by fans’ groups to “fight all discrimination in football”.

But Bain argued that Rangers were doing their best to undertake the same cause.

“We could not have done more to eradicate sectarian behaviour,” he said. “We will be seeking urgent meetings with Uefa at the highest level to address these issues.

“It would appear that yet again Uefa have acted on a report from the FARE organisation when their own match delegate, this time from Northern Ireland, gave us a very favourable report.”