Rangers F.C. supporters

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Rangers Football Club, are a Scottish association football club based in the city of Glasgow. The club's fans are often known as The Bears, derived from the team's nickname, the Teddy Bears.

Numerous fan magazines, blogs and supporters' websites are dedicated to the club and the fans have a famous long-standing rivalry with Celtic, the two Glasgow giants collectively known as "The Old Firm".

Rangers supporters have traditionally been identified with the Protestant and Unionist community in Scotland, as well as in Northern Ireland. The club has a global fan-base, with a worldwide spread of over 600 supporters clubs ranging from North America, Australasia and the Middle East to those closer to home in the United Kingdom. In season 2012–13, Rangers recorded the 18th highest average league attendance in Europe. In 2006, Rangers was one of the best-supported clubs in the UK with an estimated 1.4 million supporters.[1] Rangers have an estimated worldwide fanbase in excess of 8 million supporters.[2]

Fanbase and attendances

Recent Average League Attendances
Season Stadium capacity Average attendance  % of capacity
2003–04 50,411[3] 48,992[4] 97.2%
2004–05 50,411[3] 48,676[4] 96.6%
2005–06 50,411[3] 49,245[4] 97.8%
2006–07 51,082 49,955[4] 97.9%
2007–08 51,082 49,143[4] 96.2%
2008–09 51,082 49,534[4] 97.0%
2009–10 51,082 47,564[4] 93.1%
2010–11 51,082 45,305[4] 88.7%
2011–12 51,082 46,324[4] 90.7%
2012–13 50,987 45,744[4] 89.6%
2013–14 50,987 42,938[4] 84.2%
2014–15 50,947 32,798[4] 64.3%
2015–16 50,947 45,029[4] 88.4%

Rangers, along with Old Firm rivals Celtic, have the largest support base of all the clubs in Scotland. The club's average attendance is consistently one of the highest in Europe, the figure of 45,750 for the domestic league Season 2012–13 being the 18th highest across the continent.[5]

Record attendances

Rangers fans have contributed to a number of records for massive attendances,[6] most notably the highest home attendance for a British league fixture, 118,567 on 2 January 1939.[7] Ibrox Park hosted numerous crowds of over 100,000 during the 1950s and 1960s, prior to reconstruction following the Ibrox disaster. Rangers supporters also hold records for the highest attendance at a friendly fixture, 104,679, set at Hampden Park in 1961 vs Eintracht Frankfurt, as well as the largest crowd to watch a non-Cup final fixture, 143,570 for a Scottish Cup semi-final vs. Hibernian in 1948. Rangers hold the world record for a fourth tier match with an attendance of 50,048 against Berwick Rangers during the 2012–13 season.[8]

List of Rangers supporters groups

Name Tenure Notes
Rangers First 2014–2016[9] Merged to form Club 1872
Rangers Supporters' Trust 2003[10]–2016[9] Merged to form Club 1872
Club 1872 2016[9]– Currently the 7th largest Rangers FC shareholder
Rangers Supporters Assembly 2004–2016[9] Dissolved as part of Club 1872 formation
Rangers Supporters Association 1946[11]–
Rangers Fan Board 2014[12]–2016[9] Dissolved as part of Club 1872 formation
Sons of Struth 2013–
Vanguard Bears 2007–
NARSA 1992–
ORSA 2002–
The Blue Order 2002–
Union Bears 2007–

2008 Uefa Cup final

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Further information: 2008 UEFA Cup Final riots
A panorama of Rangers supporters at the 2008 UEFA Cup final, in the Piccadilly Gardens fan zone. This picture was taken during the day before the match against Zenit Saint Petersburg on 14 May 2008.

In 2008, a large number of Rangers supporters traveled to Manchester for the UEFA Cup Final, with some issues of disturbance and disorder. The match between Rangers and Zenit Saint Petersburg was preceded by scuffles between fans.

However, serious disorder was allegedly sparked by the technical failure of a big screen erected in Piccadilly Gardens to transmit the match to thousands of Rangers fans who had traveled to the city without tickets. In addition to property damage, fifteen police officers were injured and ambulance crews attended 52 cases of assault.[13]

Songs and chants

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Follow follow,
We will follow Rangers,
Everywhere, anywhere,
We will follow on,
Follow follow,
We will follow Rangers,
If they go to Dublin,
We will follow on.

—"Follow Follow" lyrics

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See also: Category:Rangers F.C. songs

Anthems

Rangers fans song of choice and most commonly sung is a rendition of Follow Follow, this is also the club's official anthem and is played before every home match at Ibrox Stadium. Other anthems played at home matches include Penny Arcade by Roy Orbison and Simply the Best by Tina Turner which is played as the teams come onto the pitch. Rangers adopted this anthem after the club won 9 titles in a row in the 1990s and Rangers supporters started a campaign that got the song into the top 10 of the UK singles chart in 2006 to commemorate the club's 53rd title win.[14]

Fans songs and chants

Songs frequently chanted by Rangers fans include The Bouncy, a chant which involves bouncing up and down on the spot chanting the word "Bouncy" or "Lets all do the bouncy" over and over again; Derry's Walls, a song commemorating the historic siege of Derry in 1689; and Every Other Saturday's My Half Day Off a song written in the 1960s and originating from an era where Rangers supporters finished work on a Saturday morning, a lot from the River Clyde shipyards, and headed to Ibrox for the afternoon fixture.

Rivalries

Old Firm derby

The club's most distinct rivalry is with Glasgow neighbours Celtic; the two clubs are collectively known as the Old Firm. Rangers' traditional support is largely drawn from the Protestant Unionist community, whilst Celtic's traditional support is largely drawn from the Catholic Irish community. The first Old Firm match was won by Celtic and there have been nearly four hundred matches played to date. The Old Firm rivalry has fuelled many assaults, sometimes leading to deaths, on Old Firm derby days; an activist group that monitors sectarian activity in Glasgow has reported that on Old Firm weekends, admissions to hospital emergency rooms have increased over normal levels and journalist Franklin Foer noted that in the period from 1996 to 2003, eight deaths in Glasgow were directly linked to Old Firm matches, as well as hundreds of assaults.[15]

Aberdeen

The rivalry with Aberdeen began in the late 1970s when the two clubs were among the strongest in Scotland. Relations between fans were further soured during a league match on 8 October 1988, when Aberdeen player Neil Simpson's tackle on Rangers' Ian Durrant resulted in Durrant being injured for two years.[16] Resentment continued and in 1998 an article in Rangers pre-match programme branded Aberdeen fans "scum". Rangers stated that they had "issued a full and unreserved apology" to Aberdeen and their supporters, and this was accepted by Aberdeen. In another incident, then Rangers captain Richard Gough accused Aberdeen of only playing when it was against Rangers.[17] This further increased the hostility between supporters of both clubs, which has continued.[18]

Issues with sectarianism

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Main article: Sectarianism in Glasgow

Sectarian chanting by supporters has incurred criticism and sanctions upon the club. In 1999, the vice-chairman of The Rangers Football Club Plc, Donald Findlay, resigned after being filmed singing songs regarded as sectarian during a supporters club event.[19][20][21] UEFA's Control and Disciplinary Body have punished Rangers for incidents during European ties, most notably Villareal CF in 2006,[22] Osasuna in 2007,[23] and PSV Eindhoven in 2011.[24][25]

Rangers partnered with Celtic to form the 'Old Firm Alliance', an initiative aimed at educating children from across Glasgow about issues like healthy eating and fitness, as well as awareness of anti-social behaviour, sectarianism and racism.[26] The club's 'Follow With Pride' campaign was launched in 2007 to improve the club's image and build on previous anti-racist, anti-sectarian campaigns.[27][n 1] William Gallard, UEFA's Director of Communications, commended the SFA and Scottish clubs, including Rangers, for their actions in fighting discrimination.[29] In September 2007, UEFA praised Rangers for the measures the club has taken against sectarianism.[30][31]

References

  1. ↑ Racism has been directed at players on the pitch at Rangers games, including at former Celtic player Bobo Balde,[28] and former Rangers player Mark Walters was racially abused by some Celtic and Hearts fans.
  1. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Club Information | Ibrox Stadium
  4. ↑ 4.00 4.01 4.02 4.03 4.04 4.05 4.06 4.07 4.08 4.09 4.10 4.11 4.12 Average Rangers Home League Attendances
  5. ↑ The Stadium Guide – Europe's highest attendances
  6. ↑ End to End Stuff, by Les Scott Record Attendances
  7. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  8. ↑ With crowd in the equation Rangers return all adds up | Herald Scotland
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 9.4 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  10. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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  13. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  14. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  15. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  16. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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  18. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  19. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  20. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  21. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  22. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  23. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  24. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  25. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  26. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  27. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  28. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  29. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  30. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.(subscription required)
  31. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

External links

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