THE task facing Rangers in the Philips Stadium last night was difficult enough as it was.
Beating PSV Eindhoven in in the Netherlands and securing a place in the Champions League group stages worth in the region of £40m for the first time in 12 years was always going to require a complete display.
So having their pre-match preparations cut short as a consequence of the alarming, avoidable and quite frankly shameful disorder outside the venue was the very last thing which the Ibrox club needed.
Rangers buses were surrounded by PSV ultras, who had set off fireworks and flares around the ground as the clock ticked down to kick-off, when they arrived. The so-called supporters banged the sides of the vehicles, made obscene gestures and belted out foul-mouthed chants.
The disturbing scenes prevented the visiting players, coaching staff and backroom team from entering the dressing room on schedule and carrying out their full pre-match routine.
Giovanni van Bronckhorst has vast experience as both a player and a manager. The Rangers manager played at the highest level in his homeland, Scotland, England and Spain. He has, too, won Europe’s premier club competition and appeared in a World Cup final.
There is very little, if anything, which he has not seen and done in the 30 years he has been involved in the professional game. So when he stated in an interview with BT Sport, after he had finally made it onto the pitch unscathed, that the trouble was “the worst I’ve seen” it told a story.
“You could expect from a club the size of PSV they’d have the organisation right,” he told the broadcaster. “We had to wait 15 minutes in front of the stadium and one bus just left so we were 20 minutes delayed on the second bus. So it is not the reception you expect.”
Van Bronckhorst also outlined the damaging impact the trouble had on Rangers’ warm-up. “It was shorter,” he said. “We asked to go to a delayed kick-off a little bit to prepare normally. They didn’t approve our request. But we’ll be ready, we’ll be ready to go into this game with fighting spirit.”
He was correct. James Tavernier and his team mates looked unaffected by the ordeal they had been forced to endure an hour or two earlier when action finally commenced. Maybe it even fired them up.
The Europa League finalists were the better side for much of the first-half despite being away from home, created superior scoring chances to their hosts in the opening half an hour and could easily have taken the lead through Ryan Kent and John Lundstram.
Their display would have been impressive in normal circumstances. Considering what they had been through it was nothing short of remarkable. It was perhaps understandable that they allowed their opponents to take control of proceedings towards the end of the opening 45 minutes.
However, they dug deep, asserted their superiority after half-time and deservedly scored through Antonio Colak in the second-half. They recorded the win they needed, extended their unbeaten record at the Philips Stadium to four matches and celebrated with their joyous fans at the final whistle.
But what took place before such an important and high-profile match should not be forgotten or forgiven amid the elation.
PSV must be severely punished by UEFA for letting events which could easily have resulted in someone being badly hurt and possibly even affected the final outcome to take place.
There must also be an investigation in to how the disturbances were allowed to happen, changes made to security protocols and extra measures introduced to ensure there is no repeat in future.
The hardcore element of the PSV support, like followers of many of their Eredivisie rivals, have a notorious reputation. So why was the policing and stewarding so woefully inadequate?
It was inevitable that tensions would be running high. The two sides were level in the double header and a great deal was at stake. That trouble flared was as bizarre as it was unpleasant.
A six figure fine would go a long way towards making an example of the home team and serve as warning to clubs across the continent that such incidents will not be tolerated.
But UEFA must have a long hard look at their own procedures going forward as well and determine if they are fit for purpose.
The governing body are not exactly slow to hammer clubs up for kit infringements and late kick-offs or their fans singing offensive songs, throwing missiles, displaying political banners and blocking public passageways at their matches.
Champions League, Europa League and Conference League encounters, though, continue to be blighted by hooliganism on a regular basis. More, much more, clearly needs to be done.
UEFA’s refusal to push back the kick-off time showed, considering what had gone on, a complete lack of class.
Eindhoven was liberated from Nazi occupation during the Second World War by Operation Market Garden – the failed Allied military operation that was depicted in the classic 1971 Richard Attenborough movie A Bridge Too Far.
The hostilities before the PSV v Rangers match in the city last night went too way far and those responsible can offer no sort of defence.
