Rangers clashes will have impact on Scotland's reputation
Another well known Scottish PR figure has waded into the debate on the impact of Wednesday’s clashes between Rangers fans and Manchester’s police.
Following Rob Bruce’s comments to The Drum yesterday that the media may have blown things slightly out of proportion and that the impact of events would be ‘minimal’, Arvind Salwan, director of New Media Corp has said that the media can only report what happens and did so.
It’s ludicruous to suggest that the media has blown things out of proportion; the media can only report what happens and, in my opinion, that’s exactly what it did. Look at the components: major Uefa Cup Final, and so, images seen by an international TV and online audience; Scotland’s First Minister calls for an inquiry; RFC management announce an inquiry to identify individuals; an investigation by Manchester Police. How can this not have a negative impact on Scotland’s reputation?
The Manchester Evening News headline “Battle of Piccadilly” summed it up. It’s website ran a poll asking if hosting the Uefa Cup Final was worth it. At the time of writing, 80% of respondents responded “no”. It also carries a video interview with PC Mike Regan, the isolated officer who was tripped up and attacked by a “rampaging mob” of so-called fans. The top five most read stories relate to the aftermath and over 200 comments have been posted on the site.
The BBC (network and Scotland) showed the stampedes, the attacks and the “carnage”. It carried interviews with shocked locals who that referred disparraginly to “those Scots”. Good on BBC Scotland for making a point of showing the CCTV footage in full, as this allowed viewers make their own judgment on the behaviour of the “significant minority”.
Some, but not all sponsors, will think twice about supporting such events in future. However, commercial sense can often cloud common sense, and I don’t anticipate any major sponsor taking a public stance and pulling all future support. This would also be unreasonable, as we can’t forget that the majority of fans were not involved. Alcohol was a critical factor in the whole sorry saga and unfortunately this has once again reinforced negative stereotypes of the Scots and our drink problem.
RFC should be commended for acting quickly and decisively to condemn such behaviour and I believe the club is genuinely disappointed to see these scenes of aggressive behaviour. This can be said for the majority of fans too. The RFC brand serves as an ambassador for the country and the club’s quick action helped minimise damage to its reputation.
Over time, I don’t think there will be long-lasting effects on the city’s Commonwealth Games in 2014, although it may well hinder any efforts to secure a major footballing event. Sport should build bridges not break them.