Double Standards

Yesterday, Ian Black was fined £7,500 and banned for ten matches by the SFA after he bet against his own team three times. Two of those whilst at Hearts and once with Rangers. He wagered a bet against Rangers, but didn’t bet on us to lose.

He actually bet on Rangers to draw at home to East Stirlingshire last season, as part of a £5 accumulator. We won 4-2 that day, with Black grabbing a rare goal. So, in actual fact, he helped bust his own coupon.

A guy having a flutter isn’t the problem with a lot of Rangers fans. The problem is that Black simply put odds before loyalty. We know that he didn’t do it for financial gain, being on the tidy weekly sum of around £7,000 per week at Rangers.

So, one must ask the question: Why?

Why risk your whole career over a silly punt? Bookmakers liaising with football associations is a common practice. Eventually, you will be found out. Especially if you’re gambling under your own name.

Betting against your own team is something that is morally indefensible. Whether you’re a fan or a player of the Club, it is a disgraceful act to commit and totally unforgivable, in my opinion.

Has trust been broken between Ian Black and the rest of the playing squad over at Ibrox? Only Mr McCoist will be able to answer that one.

It does look like that Black won’t be released from his contract though. Something I do agree with. He’s looked a top player in the heart of the Rangers midfield this season and it would be a shame to lose him. Also, everyone should be given a second chance to make things right when they’ve done something that’s out of line. Not just in football, but in life generally.

Just like when Francisco Sandaza screwed up with the infamous hoax call from Tommy, a man from Glasgow who was posing as a football agent and duped Sandaza into discussing the fine details of his Rangers contract.

Plenty of other players have made similar slips, most of which unnoticed. But the faceless coward Tommy saw it suitable to broadcast what he’d done all over the Internet rather than contact the relevant authorities. What most other players don’t do though, is what Black has been proven guilty of and bet against their own side.

Sandaza should’ve been gave another chance too. Like I said, everyone deserves a second chance. After all, the guy got his face rearranged and came within a centimetre of losing his eye in last season’s 2-0 win over Motherwell.

It’s sad that 23 minutes of naivety on his mobile phone in a foreign land cost a decent man so much.

Admittedly, he didn’t have the best goals to games ratio in a Rangers jersey. But he should have still been given another crack at the whip.

It is very unfair of the Club to punish one but let another off the hook. We used to be a club of high standards, not double standards.

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The Scottish Sun ran a story on Wednesday about Celtic supporter Stephen Girvan and how his dog Magic was kicked in the head by two men and called a “fenian”.

You can view the article by clicking here, but you have to be a Sun+ subscriber to be able to read it. Sorry, I can’t put up a screenshot of it up due to copyright laws.

Anyway, in true Celtic style, Mr Girvan played the victim card. A trait followed by many of his Bhoys across Scotland. He put these bigots to shame and demanded justice for his dog. Celtic legend Frank McAvennie also assisted in condemning this shameful, sectarian act.

The same Frank McAvennie who was once caught on camera singing pro-IRA songs in a Dublin bar, which was owned by Anthony Stokes’ father John. A few years before that incident, McAvennie was also left red-faced, after he was videoed making anti-Rangers remarks.

However, no-one in the right frame of mind condones what happened to Magic whatsoever. Animal cruelty is wrong and must be stopped. Also, the use of sectarian language in public is something that is just unacceptable in the 21st century. Hopefully the two men who committed this cowardly assault can be brought before a judge to answer for themselves.

However, less than 24 hours after The Scottish Sun ran their sickening story, news of Stephen Girvan’s bigoted views and life broke through to us Bears, thanks to brilliant research by Vanguard Bears.

He was caught out on Facebook referring to Rangers fans as “zombies”, “Orange cunts” and other shameful remarks. He even stooped to racist comments about a Muslim man. Girvan went as far as giving his dog Magic a new nickname: “Magic, The Zombie Slayer”. Not the most creative person, is Stephen Girvan.

Once he realised that he was found out, everything that may have been slightly incriminating was quickly taken down. But thanks to amazing research, Vanguard Bears have made everything readily available for us to see.

You can view the terrific work of SuL and B72 by clicking here.

Also, I had a conversation in private on Facebook with Mr Girvan last night about his actions and tried to give him a chance to explain himself. I have uploaded screenshots of it to my Twitter feed, so go over there and check that out if you like. You can also write to him through Facebook by giving here a hit.

More double standards, but this time it’s from the green half of Glasgow. From the ones you actually expect it from. People like the knuckle-dragging scum that is Stephen Girvan.

Let’s oust these dinosaurs from Scottish society once and for all.

Together we can beat animal cruelty and bigotry.