Rangers fear Uefa charge over fans' clash with Spain police
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Your support makes all the difference.Uefa is "very likely" to launch an investigation into incidents during Rangers' defeat against Osasuna last week, which saw Rangers fans clash with Spanish police. The Glasgow club complained about "heavy-handed policing" as Rangers crashed out of Europe with a 1-0 defeat in the away leg of the last-16 clash last Wednesday.
Rangers could face charges over discriminatory chants after the European governing body was alerted to footage posted on the internet which appears to show some of the club's fans singing sectarian songs after the match.
Uefa has received the security officer's report and will soon make its decision on whether either or both of the clubs face charges. A Uefa spokesman said: "We have received the last report we were waiting for. Now Uefa will look into the matter. It is very likely we will start an investigation regarding this match. If an investigation is started this would then be dealt with by the control and disciplinary body, at the end of March or beginning of April. The disciplinary team is reading through this report and after that we will take the official decision."
Rangers supporters claimed that riot police charged into their section for no reason, lashing out with sticks, fists and kicks before, during and after the match in Pamplona. The Glasgow club officially complained to Uefa about the lack of segregation and standard of policing at the El Sadar stadium. Rangers received 1,400 tickets for the game but many more visiting fans gained access to the ground.
Uefa also confirmed that it was "fully aware" of the footage of alleged sectarian singing, less than a year after fining Rangers £13,000 for discriminatory chanting in a Champions League tie against Villarreal.
John Macmillan, the secretary of the Rangers Supporters' Clubs, called for bigoted fans to be jailed as he fears the club will face sanctions - such as being forced to play behind closed doors. "The club and the majority of the supporters have done their damnedest to eradicate this kind of thing," he said."Now these morons have come out with this nonsense and I really don't know what can be done to sort this out now."
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