Rangers hit out over fan treatment during Europa League final in Seville

By Sports Desk May 30, 2022

Rangers say only the "mutual respect of both sets of fans" prevented more severe problems from occurring when the Europa League final was staged in Seville this month.

Eintracht Frankfurt were crowned champions when they beat the Glasgow giants 5-4 on penalties at Estadio Ramon Sanchez-Pizjuan on May 18.

Representatives of Rangers, the Bundesliga club and Football Supporters Europe (FSE) met last Friday to debrief and discuss "several significant organisational issues" during the final.

Rangers on Monday stated that fans were not treated with the respect and dignity that they should have been.

"Supporters Europe (FSE) met to debrief and discuss several significant organisational issues during the recent UEFA Europa League final in Sevilla," a club statement said.

"These issues could easily have led to even more severe problems on the night and it was only thanks to the calmness and mutual respect of both sets of fans towards each other that there were not more severe injuries suffered. All three parties applaud the remarkable calmness of the two fan bases, given the situation they faced.

"Apart from the severe lack of food and – even more critically in the soaring temperatures – of water, there were several organisational problems around policing, body searches and beyond. Both clubs, as well as FSE, received a huge amount of complaints and witness statements from fans present in the stadium.

"All three parties will now work jointly to report back to UEFA and the local public authorities in Spain, and will make recommendations to ensure these problems can never occur again at a European final.

"Fans spend a lot of effort, time and money following their teams all over Europe and expect to be treated with respect and dignity while attending football games. This expectation was not met at all at the Europa League final in Sevilla."

UEFA have come in for criticism following chaotic scenes outside the Stade de France ahead of the Champions League final between Real Madrid and Liverpool on Saturday.

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    Cyriel Dessers put the Gers ahead after just six minutes at Ibrox, diverting James Tavernier's effort past visiting goalkeeper Craig Gordon.

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    Speaking after the game, Clement acknowledged his players are fatigued after a gruelling run of fixtures but added they must start taking their chances.

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    "It's the end of a very busy period, though, with a lot of travelling and they're all human beings, not robots.

    "We missed scoring the second goal and we know that until you get that goal the other team stays in the game, so I want us to kill the belief of the opponent faster.

     "I'm very satisfied with the result and the deserved three points. We didn't show the same quality in the second half and we didn't finish off the game. We had a few chances, but it stays nervous until the last second."

    Rangers host Dundee United after the international break, while Celtic visit Hearts and Aberdeen travel to St. Mirren.

  • Clement explains Tavernier omission in Rangers draw with Olympiacos Clement explains Tavernier omission in Rangers draw with Olympiacos

    Philippe Clement explained captain James Tavernier was omitted from Rangers' 1-1 Europa League draw with Olympiacos due to fear of him playing too many games.

    The 33-year-old skipper was utilised as a second-half substitute in a game where Cyriel Dessers cancelled out Ayoub El Kaabi's opener at the Karaiskakis Stadium on Thursday.

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    "It's about one team, winning together. That's Rangers - one team, one family, going for one goal."

    Rangers now have seven points from four games in Europe's secondary competition, sitting just outside the top eight in the table.

    Clement, however, was disappointed not to travel home with the win despite being impressed with the performance.

    "A very strong performance as a team, sticking to the plan, being very disciplined and using the spaces," he added.

    "Disappointed we didn't win the game, that's the next step we need to take. But I saw a lot of positive things and I need to praise the whole team for that.

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    Rangers are now unbeaten in their last five away matches in the Europa League (W2 D3), equalling their longest such run in the competition’s history (also five unbeaten between October 2020 – March 2021).

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    They ended the contest with an expected goals (xG) total of 1.13 compared to their opponents' 0.68, despite having three less shots throughout the contest. 

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    Dessers also impressed for Philippe Clement's side. He has been directly involved in 10 goals across 13 away appearances in major European competitions (eight goals, two assists). 

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