Reasons for Rangers decision

UEFA has issued the reasoning behind its disciplinary decision against Scottish club Rangers FC, announced yesterday.

Fined for incidents
The European body fined Rangers FC €13,000 for incidents at their UEFA Champions League first knockout round tie against Spanish outfit Villarreal CF last month.

Crowd disturbances
UEFA's Control and Disciplinary Body imposed the fine on Rangers following the improper conduct of some of their supporters, notably the smashing of a window of the Villarreal team bus at the second-leg match in Spain on 7 March.

Not guilty
The body declared the Rangers fans not guilty of alleged discriminatory chants at both legs of the tie, which Villarreal won on the away-goals rule after the two sides had finished 3-3 on aggregate. The body’s decision can be appealed against within three days.

Social problem
In examining the alleged discriminatory chants, the Control & Disciplinary Body admitted that the nature of the song concerned – “Billy Boys” - related to a social problem in Scotland. The body also believed that the disciplinary decision in this case had to be taken in the context of Scotland’s social and historical background.

Studied evidence
After studying the evidence at hand as well as the statement of Rangers FC, the Control & Disciplinary Body conceded that supporters have been singing the song "Billy Boys" for years during national and international matches without either the Scottish football or governmental authorities being able to intervene. The result is that this song is now somehow tolerated.

Social and historical context
Given this social and historical context, the Control & Disciplinary Body said it considered that UEFA cannot demand an end to behaviour which has been tolerated for years. In view of the above, the Control & Disciplinary Body ruled that, despite the behaviour of its supporters, Rangers FC had not infringed Article 5 of the UEFA Disciplinary Regulations (click here) and cannot be punished according to Article 6