'Draconian': Rangers left deeply concerned by events in Nice and issue 198-word statement slamming tactics

Rangers have hit out at the “draconian” treatment of some of its supporters during Thursday night’s 4-1 Europa League win over Nice.

The Ibrox club has urged supporters to come forward with any video or pictorial evidence after reports of their fans being left in “severe distress” during the game in the south of France.

A number of Rangers supporters had their tickets in away end cancelled before the match against the Ligue 1 side and video footage revealed that some Gers fans had infiltrated the home end before being move closer to the majority of the away support.

Rangers fans backed their club in number in Nice. | AFP via Getty Images

A statement from Rangers read: “Rangers deeply concerned over several unacceptable incidents in Nice last night where our supporters’ safety was jeopardised.

“For some weeks now, the club has engaged with UEFA, Football Supporters’ Europe (FSE) and the local French authorities, with intelligence suggesting this match had potential to be problematic based on the experiences of other visiting clubs.

“Despite that significant work, our supporters were badly let down by the draconian security operation imposed by the local authorities being poorly organised and executed. This operation was changed on several occasions with no prior warning given to Rangers staff on the ground.

“Much of the communication provided to Rangers in advance also proved to be incorrect, with items such as power banks taken for storage during the match. The heavy-handed tactics used by the local police force were also unwarranted and caused serious distress for many of our supporters.

The Ibrox side prevailed 4-1 in the Europa League. | AFP via Getty Images

“The club remains in dialogue with UEFA and FSE, and is inviting supporters affected by events last night to contact [email protected] with details, images and video footage.

“The club want to put on record our thanks to our supporters for their backing last night, and for their patience as these issues were dealt with.