Stan Collymore lashes out at ‘libellous’ sectarianism accusation by Rangers fan
Stan Collymore has hit back at a Rangers fan accusing him of “sectarianism” with a tweet, saying that the accusation is “libellous”.
Collymore hit out at a Twitter user on 28 May, calling them a “bluenose [expletive]”.
That led to a Twitter user called Stephen, who says he’s a Rangers season ticket holder in his profile, saying that Collymore’s tweet was “sectarianism at its best”.
Clearly shocked by the accusation, Collymore hit back, taking a swipe at Rangers and pointing out there’s nothing sectarian about the word “bluenose.
Writing via his personal Twitter account on Tuesday morning (31 May), Collymore said: “I know it must seem strange to supporters of the World’s Most Successful Football Club, but Everton and Birmingham are known as bluenoses.
“So your accusation of sectarianism is libellous.”
Ridiculous
It’s hard to know whether or not the Rangers fan is being serious with his accusation because it’s just so ridiculous that someone would say such a thing.
If he thinks that Collymore’s “bluenose” tweet contained something abusive, then he’s wrong.
Rangers, Everton and Birmingham fans are called bluenoses by their rivals and there’s absolutely no reason to be offended by that word.
It means nothing other than you support that club.
But if the Gers fan was joking then making light of sectarian abuse isn’t funny at all.
Sectarianism is one of the biggest stains on Scottish football – if it’s not the biggest.
It blights almost every single Rangers and Celtic match and more needs to be done to eradicate it from the game for good.
Social media is rife with it too, yet the likes of Twitter, Facebook and Instagram do very little towards nipping the issue in the bud.
Calling out anything you don’t like as sectarianism doesn’t help either because it makes a mockery of the genuine abuse that some people receive every day just because of the football team they support, which country they come from or what religion they follow.
Some people really need to stop making fools of themselves and dragging the club’s name – and the reputation of the majority of our fans – through the mud.
In other Rangers news, an image shows that the Gers have completed a new signing with a player putting pen to paper on his contract.