Mark Wilson claims he worked with Police Scotland as he clashes with Gordon Duncan over Rangers incident
Mark Wilson and Gordon Duncan have clashed over the incident involving pyrotechnics at the Rangers game against Dundee on Wednesday (1 November).
Speaking on Clyde 1 Superscoreboard on Thursday (2 November), pundit Wilson said he has worked with Police Scotland previously and learned about the dangers of pyrotechnics as he asked why they are needed at football grounds.
The former Celtic defender mooted a potential stop-and-search at SPFL games, but host Duncan strongly disagreed with that measure being imposed because it would spoil the fan-going experience.
“I’m not an expert, but in a previous role I did some work with Police Scotland, who concentrate solely on that division and how to control that,” said Wilson. “They’ve certainly enlightened me to some extent of the dangers and some of the incidents that’s happened in and around stadiums with these pyrotechnics dropped at people’s feet.
“Elderly people having to move away for the fear of obviously having breathing difficulties, so there are issues there. I get that it looks colourful, but when it’s at the detriment of your own support base, then surely there’s got to be an ounce of common sense.”
“How does that work?” asked Duncan. “Because I think I’ve seen them at some point in every stadium in the top flight in Scotland, I’d be amazed if I haven’t. So what do you do? I mean you’re right, they are banned at the moment and it’s doing absolutely nothing, so what do you do?”
“Are they in England, the biggest league in the world, the most watched league in the world?” asked Wilson.
“I would say probably at times,” replied Duncan.
“So do we need them? said Wilson.
“But that’s not what I asked you, how do you get rid of it then?” asked Duncan. “You’re saying they’re not allowed, but you see them everywhere.”
“The volume last night was the problem,” said Wilson.
“Well then it’s difficult, what do you say ‘100 of you are allowed to bring in a flare, but not 200 of you’?” asked Duncan.
“Well, listen, there’s got to be some way,” replied Wilson. “I don’t think clubs have the resources to stop and search every fan that’s going in, that’s impossible.”
“Please not, either,” said Duncan. “Due to the fan-going experience.”
“So what happens, do we just let fans in with anything that can endanger people?” replied Wilson.
Not just Scotland
This certainly isn’t just a problem that’s happening in Scotland as pyrotechnics are seen in stadiums right across Europe on a regular basis.
It’s just topical in the country right now because of how the unacceptable situation unfolded in the Rangers game against Dundee, where there were simply far too many flares and it became dangerous.
It is an issue at some grounds in England, but more money is spent on policing within the Premier League and sniffer dogs are often used to speed up the searching process.
Perhaps if Police Scotland and the SPFL are serious about clamping down on this issue, then they should consult other authorities and leagues that have successfully limited the amount of pyrotechnics that make their way into stadiums.
There can’t just be a stop-and-search imposed on everyone, though, because it is a minority of people that are taking them in and it would impact those fans who aren’t doing anything wrong.
In other Rangers news, a pundit has been left stunned after one summer signing has “disappeared” at Ibrox.