Pundit Simon Jordan has backed up Michael Beale's call to Rangers fans to respect the minute's silence in honour of Ron Gordon.
However, he admits that despite the Ibrox boss acting as a "statesman" he can't stop the reaction from fans. The Leith outfit wore black armbands at Livingston on Saturday as they returned to action in the Scottish Premiership for the first time since the US-based businessman's death and plan another celebration of his memory, and will continue their tributes to Gordon at Easter Road on Wednesday with Sunshine on Leith set to play before kick-off with fans invited to take part in a minute's applause.
However, following shameful scenes ahead of the Viaplay Cup final, when large sections of the Rangers support interrupted a similar mark of respect with sectarian chants, Beale has urged fans to be respectful of the tribute. Speaking on talkSPORT, Jordan discussed the demand from Beale with host Jim White he admitted the boss was ultimately powerless to stop the reaction from fans pre-match.
He stated the situation reminded him of the reaction of Celtic fans to the passing of the Queen when banners were unveiled by the Parkhead fans mocking the passing. An impassioned Jordan said: "Michael Beale wants his fans to be a credit to the football club, in the same way he wants his players to be, himself to be and his board of directors.
"I don't subscribe that there is any need to bring anything into a minute's silence for the passing of someone. If you don't like it don't be in the stadium for when it happens. Or keep your counsel and have your own silence. I'm sure the people who are doing it will have some very strong rebuttal to that as to why it's justified.
"Hopefully, they won't. Remember we had the same debate when it was the Celtic fans (interrupting a minute's silence in tribute of the Queen). They will go back and say it's steeped in the history of the reasons why they feel the way they do, and what they believe and it's gone far beyond a football match and goes into the psyche of the country they come from. There is a point where some of that gets let go.
"I'm a realist, I'm not a lightweight. I'm the first one to say a football manager, when it's the idea that someone is threatening you get over it, pull yourself together and be stronger about it. But I also don't like that in some way or another it's fair game to say something about the loss of someone's life at a football stadium, and use it as an option for ridicule.
"That to me is unacceptable and is even less acceptable than the ridiculous nature of people to hang on to something from 200 years ago."
White stated football had an issue with stopping these kinds of things, before Jordan went on: "How can they stop it? How can football stop it?
"All they can do is consequence it. It's an unfair burden put on sport. This isn't Winston Smith and the Ministry of Truth; you can't tell what someone is going to think before they walk into a stadium and stop them from thinking it or acting upon it. You can only ever react to it.
"You can throw more stewards in there, yes you can throw more police in there and yes you can put more bans into people, and that will be the consequences. So Michael Beale is acting as a statesman to try and urge the Rangers fans to be a credit to their football club, and have a little bit of dignity about themselves."
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