'The disgusting behaviour of Rangers fans in Romania made me ashamed of my nationality'

Published on Sunday 8 November 2009 21:32

I am writing to express my disgust at the comments attributed to Martin Bain of Rangers FC in your article 'Bain blames Unirea and Uefa for crowd trouble' (Sport, 5 November).

As a Scot resident in Bucharest I attended this match to lend my support to a Scottish team who happened to playing in the city. However, the behaviour of Rangers fans during this match, and in particular at half-time, did lead me to being ashamed of my nationality.

But this is nothing compared to Mr Bain's comments. To have the mindless violence of Rangers supporters blamed on only two turnstiles being opened beggars belief. Does Mr Bain really believe that this would be a justification for ripping up seating in the stadium and throwing it at stewards? The rioting happened at half-time, long after all Rangers fans had made it into the ground, so clearly there was no connection between this problem and the commotion that ensued.

It is bad enough that a group of hooligans should besmirch the reputation of Scotland in this way, but the least we can expect is that the leadership of the club take responsibility for the actions of their supporters. Mr Bain and Rangers FC should apologise for the disgusting behaviour of their fans, and make clear it was the fault of their supporters that such a riot took place.

DAVID LEWIS

Calea Vacaresti

Bucharest

Romania