Rangers interim chairman John Gilligan 'disappointed' by 'small minority' of fans over pyro use in Europa League

Rangers interim chairman John Gilligan has stated his “disappointment” at the use of pyrotechnics by a “small minority” of their fans in two of their Europa League games.

The Ibrox club were fined £11,500 and £16,000 respectively after devices were set off in the crowd during games against Malmo and Lyon.

Gilligan has urged fans to stop using pyrotechnics at home and away games and warned of “ever larger” repercussions to the club if it continues.

He also spoke of his concern for supporters coping with the effects of such devices.

In an update released through the Rangers website on Wednesday, he said: “After a fantastic result in Malmo, we were all disappointed with the Europa League result against Lyon, but I was proud to see the supporters staying with Philippe and the team until the final whistle.

“The biggest disappointment of that evening, however, was the actions of a small minority of supporters, whose use of pyrotechnics at the match has seen the club fined €13,750 by UEFA. This is in addition to a €19,000 fine for a similar incident in the match with Malmo.

“My message is the use of pyrotechnics must stop and stop now at all of our matches home and away! Not only could the repercussions become ever-larger for the club, many supporters have difficulty coping with the effects of pyrotechnics, whether that be the smoke or loud bangs they produce. It is desperately unfair for any Rangers supporter to come to a match and be affected in such a manner.”

Gilligan also confirmed the departure of Creag Robertson from his role as director of football operations.

He said: “I can confirm director of football operations Creag Robertson will leave in the coming weeks to pursue new opportunities. We must thank Creag for his contribution in several roles since he joined the club in 2016 and we wish him well in his future endeavours.

“With Creag moving on, I have seen some reports of the club being without leadership. I can assure you that is not the case with George Letham and myself, who have deep knowledge of business and our great club, working tirelessly alongside our executive management team to continue to drive the club forward.

“Nils Koppen, our director of football recruitment, highlighted in an interview last week that planning for the January transfer window is well underway.

“On the commercial front, Karim Virani and his team have delivered an outstanding new front of shirt sponsorship deal with the Kindred group, while we have been really pleased with the work done in such a short space of time, by Elior on the catering front.

“The financial uplift in both deals, together with the strong financial oversight and controls actioned by CFO, James Taylor will positively benefit the club going forward.

“Of course, we are determined to fill the chairman and CEO roles as quickly as possible, and our recruitment consultants have already produced short lists of very strong and experienced candidates for both roles.

“While that is ongoing, our absolute priority is to support Philippe in any way we can to ensure the men’s first-team can continue to build upon the progress we have seen from them in recent weeks.

“We must thank Philippe for standing tall during these difficult months and for dealing with non-football matters on the club’s behalf.”

He ended his message by thanking the “most loyal fanbase in world football” and promised to do “everything in our power to help deliver success in the months and years ahead.”