Rangers supporter group accuse Ibrox board of ‘alienating’ fans as Club 1872 demand answers from Stewart Robertson on overseas Celtic clash

The Light Blues will face their Glasgow rivals in Australia as part of a four-team tournament during the five-week domestic break in November
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A Rangers supporters group are demanding a formal explanation from the club for the decision to accept an invitation to participate in a first ever overseas Old Firm match.

Club 1827, which holds 16,202,838 shares in the Light Blues, have wrote a letter to Rangers Managing Director Stewart Robertson seeking answers after agreeing to take on Celtic as part of the inaugural Sydney Super Cup tournament to be held in Australia this November.

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The four-team competition coincides with the FIFA World Cup in Qatar and will see both Glasgow giants travel Down Under for an eight-day trip without several key players during the five-week domestic break.

Rangers managing director Stewart Robertson pictured leaving the Ibrox club's annual general meeting at the Clyde Auditorium in Glasgow on Tuesday. (Photo by Ross MacDonald / SNS Group)Rangers managing director Stewart Robertson pictured leaving the Ibrox club's annual general meeting at the Clyde Auditorium in Glasgow on Tuesday. (Photo by Ross MacDonald / SNS Group)
Rangers managing director Stewart Robertson pictured leaving the Ibrox club's annual general meeting at the Clyde Auditorium in Glasgow on Tuesday. (Photo by Ross MacDonald / SNS Group)

The Ibrox club’s decision to take part in the tournament has caused outrage among Gers fans, despite committing to a lucrative deal.

Giovanni van Bronckhorst is looking forward to the occasion and believes the games in Sydney are “a terrific opportunity” to reach out to the club’s overseas fanbase.

Rangers Commercial and Executive Director James Bisgrove explained earlier today how the “unparalleled” financial opportunity that arose convinced club officials to accept the offer, but his comments have drawn little support from fans.

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A spokesperson for Club 1872 said: “We can confirm that Club 1872 has written to Stewart Robertson today to seek an explanation for this decision by the Executive and PLC Boards of Rangers Football Club.

“Regardless of the fee involved, alienating a significant portion of your supporter base cannot be seen as a sound commercial decision.

“Furthermore, the way in which this entire episode has been communicated to supporters once again highlights a lack of genuine support engagement, which has been replaced in the last two years by saturated marketing activity.

“Supporters remain, by far, the largest contributors to Rangers’ financial health and the Rangers Executives and PLC board would do well to remember that.”

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