‘You’ll be blaming Catholic schools next’ ‘the disease in Scottish Football’ ‘you hear vile songs week in week out’ BBC reporter refuses to name and shame

Soccer Football - Europa League - Fans gather in Glasgow for the Europa League Final - Eintracht Frankfurt v Rangers - Glasgow, Scotland, Britain - May 18, 2022 Rangers fans outside the Ibrox Stadium during the Europa League final Action Images via Reuters/Lee Smith

Chris McLaughlin has joined in the deflection exercise triggered by Hibs last night as they announced ticket allocation cuts to ‘Scottish football fans’.

On Sunday Hibs supporters were ‘treated’ to almost two hours of anti-Irish and anti-Catholic hatred from Sevco fans culminating in a sustained chant wishing death on Martin Boyle as he underwent seven minutes of treatment on the pitch before being taken to hospital.

Even by their own low standards Sunday’s song book was something else with Viaplay Sport and BBC Scotland not offering any apology for the chants that they were broadcasting. Last night Alasdair Lamont apologised on BBC Scotland viewers over a very audible chant from Morton fans about Lawrence Shankland.

For their own reasons Hibs refused to name the group of supporters that had forced their hand in cutting ticket allocations, under a headline ‘Supporter conduct enough is enough’ they declared:

Hibernian FC condemns the abhorrent behaviour and chanting made by some supporters in Scottish football.

Over recent years supporters’ unacceptable conduct has become rife in Scotland whether that be through the use of pyrotechnics, sectarianism, objects being thrown onto the field of play or through other actions. This is simply not good enough.

It seems that the chief Sports News reporter of BBC Scotland has the same aversion to naming the offending group of supporters.

Back in July 2015 McLaughlin reported on Sevco fans being removed from Easter Road for sectarian singing, soon afterwards he found his media access to Ibrox and Murray Park had been withdrawn.

That incident led to a comical seven year stand off between the club and the state broadcaster who went out of their way to present news in a favourable light for the club that they were supposedly in dispute with.

In 2019 UEFA twice closed parts of Ibrox as punishment for racist singing and chanting.

The SFA, SPL and SPFL have never taken any action on the match by match hatred chanted by fans at Ibrox, this season Scottish Gas has decided to sponsor the Scottish Cup.

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