THERE has rightly been widespread condemnation of the actions of a small group of Rangers fans who, on Wednesday night, shamed their club, the city of Glasgow and Scotland.
It is unfortunate that the catalyst for the trouble was the malfunctioning
of a giant screen in a public square, where 20,000 fans had gathered to watch the match. Until it broke down there was a party atmosphere.
But regardless of the circumstances, and whether there was provocation or not from the police in riot gear, as some fans have suggested, it is impossible to condone the actions of the mindless morons who pelted technicians attempting to fix the screen with bottles, or the thugs who attacked a solitary policeman.
The horrific images of the latter, captured on CCTV cameras, have been beamed around the world to our national shame. It is commendable of the officer who was attacked, Pc Mick Regan, to admit that the majority of fans were well-behaved and that only a hardcore minority were looking for trouble on the night.
Rangers have rightly promised to take action against individuals identified as causing trouble, and it remains to see whether UEFA will seek to punish the club as most of the trouble was miles away from the stadium.
In a unique situation like this some might argue it would be grossly unfair to hold Rangers responsible for such a large number of fans, many of whom have little direct connection with the club.
Regardless of whether punishment is doled out, or if the good name of the club has been muddied, should Rangers qualify for Europe again next season travelling supporters will, without doubt, be more rigorously policed than before.
But Manchester cannot absolve itself from all blame for the ugly scenes which marred what should have been a carnival occasion.
After first urging ticketless fans to stay away from the city, perhaps accepting that because of geography an invasion was inevitable, it invited 100,000 of them down to party.
This late change of heart and subsequent decision to relax its street drinking ban for the day and allow fans easy access to alcohol 12 hours before the kick-off are at best questionable.
And perhaps these factors provide sufficient grounds for a more wide-ranging inquiry into what went wrong, rather than one that focuses on the actions of a minority who should be ashamed to call themselves both football fans and Scottish.
The full article contains 420 words and appears in Edinburgh Evening News newspaper.
