PARANOID TIMMY
A MATCH official at the centre of a row over leaking details of sectarian singing by Rangers fans is to be spoken to by Scottish football officials as a row over alleged BBC bias against the Ibrox club continues to rumble.The Scottish Professional Football League has confirmed that it is looking into how details of alleged sectarian chanting was passed to a BBC journalist by a match delegate after Rangers recent Petrofac Cup victory over Hibs.
The resulting coverage was the catalyst for the club to tell BBC senior sports reporter Chris McLaughlin to stay away. The club is understood to have made claims about continued misleading and unbalanced reports.The BBC has since refused to send staff to Ibrox until the ban is lifted and has insisted there is no bias in the way it reports on Rangers. That boycott remains in place as there remains an impasse between the club and the BBC over Mr McLaughlin's ban.
The Rangers Supporters Trust which has lodged a complaint about the details from the match delegate's report being passed on says it had been confirmed this breached the guidelines of the Scottish Professional Football League. It is expected to meet with Scottish football officials to discuss how to "ensure that Rangers fans are treated in the same manner as other supporters in future games".
A spokesperson for the SPFL said: “We understand a match delegate may have given information, which was to be included in their report, to a journalist following the recent Petrofac Training Cup tie between Rangers and Hibernian. Although this does not breach any formal rules, delegates are requested not to engage is such activity and we will be addressing the incident with the delegate in question.”Mr McLaughlin had tweeted that details of sectarian singing and the use of a flare had been made in the delegate's report. He tweeted: "Three fans from Rangers end arrested for sectarian singing during the win over Hibs. Also makes delegate's report as does use of flare."
He added: "Info reported was offered to me by match delegate after the game. I checked with cops before tweet. "I always ask delegate after games if any problems. I would have reported exactly the same way if it was any other club."RST's complaint says: "What we seek is for Rangers and more specifically Rangers fans to be treated in the same manner by the SPFL as other clubs in Scotland. It is quite clear in this instance that this has not been the case. They added: "Also, what steps will be taken to ensure that journalists seeking to create negative stories about Rangers in the future are not given assistance in doing so by representatives of the SPFL."
The supporters group say they have now been offered a clear-the-air meeting with the SPFL which it wants to arrange. Three men were charged with singing sectarian songs at the match and Police Scotland said a total of six arrests were made. The three men, aged 20, 30 and 39 were charged under the controversial Offensive Behaviour at Football and Threatening Communications (Scotland) Act 2012.
A 43-year-old man was charged with anti-social behaviour, a 17-year-old boy was charged after a smoke bomb was set off in the stadium and a 22-year-old man was charged after damage to a stadium seat. A seventh person was charged with allowing alcohol to be consumed on a public supporters coach attending the match. The BBC is baffled at the fuss over the match official leak.
"Chris as a trackside reporter and would regularly see the match delegate. The information was given to him, he was a reporter, he acted upon it, it was in the public interest and it was accurate," said a BBC source. "He was just doing his job.
"If he were to ignore what he was told, he would be accused by the other side that he was given stuff and did nothing about it. "We would reject any suggestion that Chris went out to get a negative story. He didn't just write about the arrests, there needs to be some sort of perspective." Some Rangers fans have lodged complaints with the BBC and the communications regulator Ofcom over the BBC boycott saying that it was indicative of a continued bias against the club.
The boycott is expected to continue on Friday with Rangers' Ladbrokes Championship game against St Mirren and a match against Hibernian on August 23. Rangers has previously said its concerns with coverage came to a head after a BBC report 'unfairly focused' on the arrest of Rangers fans after the club’s 6-2 win over Hibs.
Two years ago, Rangers banned BBC journalists Chris McLaughlin and Chick Young from the club's stadium and training ground after the broadcaster revealed a leaked document which indicated a plot to sack manager Ally McCoist. In July 2011, the Beeb were banned and later issued an apology to McCoist over their reporting of his views on football violence and sectarianism.
A second ban came three months later over their documentary Rangers – The Inside Story about Craig Whyte’s disastrous club takeover. In September, 2012, the BBC infuriated the club again with a spoof of the American TV drama Mad Men depicting McCoist falling from a building.
Please don't report our sectarian songs
A MATCH official at the centre of a row over leaking details of sectarian singing by Rangers fans is to be spoken to by Scottish football officials as a row over alleged BBC bias against the Ibrox club continues to rumble.The Scottish Professional Football League has confirmed that it is looking into how details of alleged sectarian chanting was passed to a BBC journalist by a match delegate after Rangers recent Petrofac Cup victory over Hibs.
The resulting coverage was the catalyst for the club to tell BBC senior sports reporter Chris McLaughlin to stay away. The club is understood to have made claims about continued misleading and unbalanced reports.The BBC has since refused to send staff to Ibrox until the ban is lifted and has insisted there is no bias in the way it reports on Rangers. That boycott remains in place as there remains an impasse between the club and the BBC over Mr McLaughlin's ban.
The Rangers Supporters Trust which has lodged a complaint about the details from the match delegate's report being passed on says it had been confirmed this breached the guidelines of the Scottish Professional Football League. It is expected to meet with Scottish football officials to discuss how to "ensure that Rangers fans are treated in the same manner as other supporters in future games".
A spokesperson for the SPFL said: “We understand a match delegate may have given information, which was to be included in their report, to a journalist following the recent Petrofac Training Cup tie between Rangers and Hibernian. Although this does not breach any formal rules, delegates are requested not to engage is such activity and we will be addressing the incident with the delegate in question.”Mr McLaughlin had tweeted that details of sectarian singing and the use of a flare had been made in the delegate's report. He tweeted: "Three fans from Rangers end arrested for sectarian singing during the win over Hibs. Also makes delegate's report as does use of flare."
He added: "Info reported was offered to me by match delegate after the game. I checked with cops before tweet. "I always ask delegate after games if any problems. I would have reported exactly the same way if it was any other club."RST's complaint says: "What we seek is for Rangers and more specifically Rangers fans to be treated in the same manner by the SPFL as other clubs in Scotland. It is quite clear in this instance that this has not been the case. They added: "Also, what steps will be taken to ensure that journalists seeking to create negative stories about Rangers in the future are not given assistance in doing so by representatives of the SPFL."
The supporters group say they have now been offered a clear-the-air meeting with the SPFL which it wants to arrange. Three men were charged with singing sectarian songs at the match and Police Scotland said a total of six arrests were made. The three men, aged 20, 30 and 39 were charged under the controversial Offensive Behaviour at Football and Threatening Communications (Scotland) Act 2012.
A 43-year-old man was charged with anti-social behaviour, a 17-year-old boy was charged after a smoke bomb was set off in the stadium and a 22-year-old man was charged after damage to a stadium seat. A seventh person was charged with allowing alcohol to be consumed on a public supporters coach attending the match. The BBC is baffled at the fuss over the match official leak.
"Chris as a trackside reporter and would regularly see the match delegate. The information was given to him, he was a reporter, he acted upon it, it was in the public interest and it was accurate," said a BBC source. "He was just doing his job.
"If he were to ignore what he was told, he would be accused by the other side that he was given stuff and did nothing about it. "We would reject any suggestion that Chris went out to get a negative story. He didn't just write about the arrests, there needs to be some sort of perspective." Some Rangers fans have lodged complaints with the BBC and the communications regulator Ofcom over the BBC boycott saying that it was indicative of a continued bias against the club.
The boycott is expected to continue on Friday with Rangers' Ladbrokes Championship game against St Mirren and a match against Hibernian on August 23. Rangers has previously said its concerns with coverage came to a head after a BBC report 'unfairly focused' on the arrest of Rangers fans after the club’s 6-2 win over Hibs.
Two years ago, Rangers banned BBC journalists Chris McLaughlin and Chick Young from the club's stadium and training ground after the broadcaster revealed a leaked document which indicated a plot to sack manager Ally McCoist. In July 2011, the Beeb were banned and later issued an apology to McCoist over their reporting of his views on football violence and sectarianism.
A second ban came three months later over their documentary Rangers – The Inside Story about Craig Whyte’s disastrous club takeover. In September, 2012, the BBC infuriated the club again with a spoof of the American TV drama Mad Men depicting McCoist falling from a building.
Please don't report our sectarian songs
"All creeds welcome" Ahem, execpt of course those taigy ****s! 
