SFA Chief Ian Maxwell has brought a voice of reason to the ‘aftermath’ of Rangers’ title win and fan chaos by stating clubs cannot be held responsible for their supporters’ actions and the supporters themselves had to be accountable.
Following the disgraceful and borderline criminal demands of ex-Justice Secretary Humza Jousaf (quickly removed from office by his boss to avoid any more PR disasters) that Rangers (let’s face it, it was Rangers he was getting at) be held 100% accountable with a ‘strict liability’ for fan behaviour, the SFA’s big chief slammed that notion and agreed with all sensible onlookers that it’s the supporters themselves who need to behave.
He said:
“Fundamentally people are responsible for what they do. That is the case in any setting, not just football. Obviously football clubs work hard to promote messages about discrimination and abuse and all those things. We have seen us take the knee before matches, we have seen us stand against racism, we have been involved in the social media boycott recently and clubs are absolutely committed. Look at Rangers’ ‘Everyone Anyone’ programme and the good work that is doing and it is important that we continue to drive that.”
In other words, Yousaf’s diabolical abuse of power is being quietly called out, by a CE who has generally always been fair towards all Scottish clubs, including Rangers.
And he’s right – it’s fans responsible, not the clubs, and Rangers more than most are doing what they can to educate and inform, as Maxwell rightly says.
End of the day, individuals are accountable, and it’s time the media quits hounding the club and finding muck to rake over this.
Rangers couldn’t have done more, frankly.