Rangers chairman urges fans to fight sectarian abuse

Rangers chairman Sir David Murray admits his club's supporters must do more to win the fight against sectarianism.

Murray, speaking at Thursday's annual general meeting, criticised the Rangers fans who chant vile abuse about Celtic supporters and called on the Ibrox crowd to help drive out the bigots.

Rangers have been scarred by the problem for years and the Glasgow team were fined 13,300 pounds by UEFA for “discriminatory chanting” at both legs of a Champions League tie against Villarreal in 2006.

Although Murray insists sectarianism at Ibrox is declining, he knows it is still a major embarrassment for a club whose fans heaped more shame on their team by rioting after last season's UEFA Cup final in Manchester.

“We have people involved with this club who put bile – that's the word for it – on websites every day. All we are doing is playing into the hands of the media,” Murray said.

“In the 20 years I've been at this club, there has been a vast, vast improvement on the behaviour of sectarianism at the club. Then we don't help ourselves by giving people stuff on a daily basis.

“But all the problems with Scottish sectarianism should not be just put at the feet of Rangers Football Club.”

When it was put to the chairman by one shareholder that the club does not do enough to defend its own fans, Murray added: “Let me say something quite controversial, I don't think within our club we help ourselves. We give our head on a salver sometimes.

“Half of our problems I believe are self-inflicted. Yes, you can argue that we don't defend ourselves but we have supporters – even on the day of the UEFA Cup final – criticising the management and players.

“Some people who are supposedly supporters need to have a hard look at themselves. Not all of our supporters are pulling in the right direction and they give the media it on a plate.”