Rangers could face points deduction as SFA ramp up ‘severe’ punishments
Rangers fans need to be careful with their actions, as things could potentially get from bad to worse.
The Gers have faced multiple issues over the years, both domestically and in Europe, with authorities imposing fines for the use of pyrotechnics.
While the Ibrox faithful will want to make their feelings about Russell Martin heard in the upcoming matches, they can’t risk putting the Light Blues in jeopardy with their antics.
Supporters threw plastic balls onto the pitch against Hibernian in the Premier Sports Cup quarter-final on 20 September, disrupting play, but it may have severe consequences.
This story includes exclusive comments from football finance expert Dr Daniel Plumley.
Rangers face prospect of points deduction after losing 500 tickets for Hampden clash
While Gers fans have every right to protest, some of their actions could potentially be detrimental.
The Scottish FA have punished fans by cutting ticket allocations for the Premier Sports Cup semi-final against Celtic at Hampden Park on 2 November, but things could get worse.
Speaking exclusively to Ibrox News, Plumley sent a grave warning to the Glaswegian outfit about the prospect of being deducted points for repeat offences.
- The Gers fans held protests before kickoff against Hibs.
- Tensions are high in G51 as supporters want Martin sacked.
- Patrick Stewart and Kevin Thelwell are also facing heat at the Glaswegian outfit.
The finance expert said: “Yeah, that’s the kind of logical process that you follow, and the punishments can be wide ranging. But you tend to find that the authorities will sort of scale them up, and that can be for severity of offence or kind of repeat offences where the initial penalty’s not doing the trick.
“So you’re kind of looking at financial fines, then through to ticket restrictions, additional ticket restrictions. The ultimate from the fan perspective is no fans at all, but nobody wants to go down that road. They can hit you on the pitch as well if they choose to, so it does get more severe for sure.
“Obviously, we’re not there yet, but you do kind of get these punishments for repeat offences, and it can get more severe if it carries on, and ultimately, you don’t want to be in points deduction territory with stuff like this because that’s where it really hurts the club on the pitch.”
Read More: Barry Ferguson tells Martin he has best player in Scotland
Ibrox hierarchy will hope sense prevails in Rangers vs Genk
Genk travel to Ibrox in the Europa League on 25 September, and fans will certainly have something up their sleeves to protest Martin’s continuity in G51.
It wouldn’t be surprising to see plastic balls being thrown on the pitch once again to express dissatisfaction with the decision-makers at the Light Blues.
The Scottish manager has failed to meet the standards at the Glaswegian outfit, and supporters will feel they have every right to make their voices heard by any means necessary if they believe the Ibrox hierarchy is ignoring them.
Another crunch tie where both sets of supporters could repeat the use of pyros is when Rangers face Celtic in the Premier Sports Cup semi-final, with tensions already high in Glasgow.
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