Vanguard Bears condemn the disgraceful scenes witnessed at Fir Park on Sunday 31st May 2015 both during and after the Motherwell versus Rangers game.
In what was a hostile environment, the home fans indulged in what can best be described as hate crimes.
Fans at the game and those watching live on TV were firstly subjected to the following chant, “We f*cking hate Rangers” early on in the first half. This clearly set the tone for what was to follow.
Rangers Club Captain Lee McCulloch was assaulted by a flag-wielding Motherwell supporting thug, being struck on his face just below the eye by the three foot long flag pole. To date, the assailant remains at large.
Following the final whistle, Bilel Mohsni was cowardly attacked from behind by Motherwell player Lee Erwin, and reacted to this assault in a manner not consistent of that of a Rangers player. It is probably best that Mohsni’s contract at Ibrox is up as he will have been a targeted man, with Rangers-hating rag, The Daily Record, already leading the vitriolic campaign to have him punished. Real Rangers fans do not buy “The Record” despite one of our Board members describing it as "courageous".
Erwin, despite making light of the events on Twitter, should find himself up in front of the football beaks, and will be very fortunate to escape punishment from the law of the land as Police Scotland have stated they are investigating the incident. A number of other Motherwell players identified on TV indulging in violent behaviour towards Mohsni will also be fortunate to escape Police and SPL censure.
Hundreds of snarling Motherwell supporters invaded the pitch, not to celebrate their teams’ victory but to goad and provoke the 1500 or so Rangers fans who were behaving impeccably in the away end. The question should be asked why the majority of Match Day Stewards and Police Officers were deployed in front of the travelling support, when clearly throughout the game it was the Motherwell support that had been indulging in unacceptable behaviour and seemed hell-bent on keeping that going.
We also express our disappointment but not surprise at the weak statement issued by Rangers FC regarding this matter and hope that we are not returning to the bad old days of dignified silence when it comes to defending the club and its fans from those who find it easy to hate.