Stewart Regan predicts slow lingering death of football
Despite his role as guardian of the game Regan has painted a desperate picture of the sport if Rangers are outwith the top two divisions regardless of the circumstances of the club that is currently being liquidated.
Gerrymandering Charles Green’s club into the First Division is an obvious compromise of the sport with most Rangers fans appearing to be in favour of starting afresh in Division Three.
Regan’s efforts alongside SPL counterpart Neil Doncaster over the last few weeks have demonstrated how out of touch they are with the thinking of football supporters and administrators across the Scottish game.
A survey carried out on Rangers season-ticket holders revealed that more than 70% of supporters wanted to see their newco begin life in the Third Division with a clean slate.
The SFA and SPL have been accused by First Division clubs of trying to bully them into a decision due to their own failings and unwillingness to deal with the problems that have stemmed from Rangers going into administration in February.
While politicians and other leaders strive to heal divisions in society Regan’s ill thought out comments serve to highlight why he shouldn’t be in any position of authority in Scottish football
“Without Rangers, there is social unrest and a big problem for Scottish society,” Regan told The Scotsman. “They have a huge fan base and to contemplate the situation where those fans don’t have a team to support, where those fans are effectively left without a game to follow, I just think that could lead to all sorts of issues, all sorts of problems for the game.
“Tribalism in football is really important. It is part of the game. People follow their clubs with pride, it is passed down from generation to generation.
“There are thousands of Rangers fans whose fathers and parents and grandfathers have been Rangers fans. You can’t contemplate a situation without that and if Rangers weren’t to exist that could have real dire consequences.
“There is a lot of emotion around this subject because Rangers are a huge institution in Scottish football history and they are where they are. Their fans have been hurt, they don’t know what’s happening.
“There hasn’t been a great deal of leadership at the club and there hasn’t been a huge amount of communication from the football authorities.”
There also hasn’t been a great deal of responsibility from the football authorities with Regan’s comments typical of a man with no understanding or grasp of the issues that influence Scottish football and society.”
CLICK HERE for SFA backtrack on Regan quote
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