Official Rangers partner hits back at Ewan Murray ’embarrassment’ claim over ‘pantomime season’ Aberdeen controversy
Heart & Hand have reacted to Ewan Murray over the journalist’s claim that the controversy around Rangers meeting Aberdeen in the Viaplay Cup final is an “embarrassment”.
The official Rangers partner responded via Twitter late on 8 November to fight the club’s corner before a back and forth ensued regarding Dons complaints on ticket allocation and which end of Hampden Park fans will fill out.
Heart & Hand dismissed the whole situation as a “pantomime season trop” designed to allow Aberdeen to “perform a wee dance for their fans about how they’re oppressed by the nasty west coast”.
Murray had said: “If Aberdeen – or Hibs – were playing Celtic in this final, they’d be told to use the west end of the ground. There’s no operational reason for anyone to deny that because it is Rangers instead.
Whole thing is an embarrassment.”
Heart & Hand replied: “Rangers being in the West Stand is a disgrace! Because…reasons! People who go support their team every week not having a chance of a ticket because people who fancy a wee jaunt to a cup final every four or five years and wouldn’t dream of going to Pittodrie normally is fine though yeah?”
Murray: “If anyone going to watch Rangers “every week” doesn’t have a ticket even at 15,000 or 10,000 then Rangers have a serious ticketing issue.”
H & H: “All Rangers away games are massively over-subscribed. Every single person who has a season ticket for Pittodrie is guaranteed a ticket, and a good chunk besides. Just over half of Rangers ST holders are. As for Glasgow advantage, I doubt any Rangers fan would complain if it was at Murrayfield.”
Murray: “Your season ticket guarantees you nothing at Hampden. Nor should it. You said people going every week will miss out. That won’t happen.. unless Rangers and tickets is an utter mess.”
H & H: “This is all just a pantomime season trope anyway. Aberdeen won’t sell 19k tix and they know it, the West Stand thing is pointless, and it’s all so they can perform a wee dance for their fans about how they’re oppressed by the nasty West Coast. Simple solution: they can have as many (up to 50%) they request but they need to pay for any unsold. We’d get much more realistic noises from them then.”
Yet another upset
This is the sort of issue that is absolutely nailed on to cause complaints from somebody and, as so often, it is Rangers who stand accused of getting an unfair advantage.
But ultimately it is the authorities who have made the decision to ignore Aberdeen’s requests based on their own calculations, and the Light Blues fanbase have their own issues with it as well.
It is quite possibly more a matter of optics rather than a practical issue, since on paper a cup final at a neutral venue might suggest everything should be equal.
But if there is confidence that Rangers can and will sell more tickets than Aberdeen do then it seems the SPFL have decided not to go through the trouble of giving the Dons more and then potentially having to then switch them over, while stadium ends surely make little practical difference other than a vague perception of favouritism.
There will be thousands of Gers season ticket holders who aren’t going to get a chance of attending at Hampden either way, which possibly raises questions about the national stadium as much as anything.
It is no surprise that Aberdeen have kicked up a fuss, and perhaps it is understandable from their point of view, but it is quite possible that Dave Cormack and Alan Burrows have just been looking to curry favour with their own fanbase and cultivate a siege mentality ahead of a big game.
The SPFL are absolutely not immune from criticism on various issues, and in this situation it is certain that there would have been unhappiness from somewhere, so there is sure to be more complaints leading up to the game.
Ultimately now it is down to Philippe Clement and the players to ensure that there aren’t complaints from their own fanbase after the final whistle.
In other Rangers news, the club are now confirmed to be in the “final stages” of securing a “vital” arrival at the club.