Rangers Criticize French Police Over Fan Safety in Nice

Rangers has leveled accusations against French police, alleging that their “draconian” tactics in Nice on Thursday endangered the club’s supporters. According to a statement released by the Ibrox-based team, certain fans were “jeopardised” and experienced “serious distress” due to incidents surrounding the Europa League match, which the Glasgow club won by a score of 4-1. In an online declaration, Rangers asserted that the security arrangements for the game were “poorly organised and executed,” and that the instructions provided to the club turned out to be incorrect. The club further stated that it was communicating with UEFA, the sport’s governing body, and with Football Supporters’ Europe concerning the events that occurred at the match, which took place at Nice’s Allianz Riviera stadium. Rangers expressed on its website that it was “deeply concerned” by multiple “unacceptable” incidents in Nice. The club indicated that it had collaborated with UEFA, FSE, and local French authorities prior to the fixture, as “intelligence” had indicated potential issues with the match. The club declared: “Despite that significant work, our supporters were badly let down by the draconian security operation imposed by the local authorities being poorly organised and executed. This operation was changed on several occasions with no prior warning given to Rangers staff on the ground. The heavy-handed tactics used by the local police force were also unwarranted and caused serious distress for many of our supporters.” It was also mentioned that the communication provided to Rangers beforehand proved to be inaccurate, and that supporters impacted by the events should reach out to the club. Following the win, Rangers advanced to eighth position in the Europa League table, with goals scored by Vaclav Cerny, Mohamed Diomande, and a brace from Hamza Igamane.