Hibs fans travelled to Glasgow on Saturday for a match against Rangers at Ibrox. Sadly, some fans of the Edinburgh club appear to have scrawled the number 66 on their seats, and stickers referring to Stairway 13 at Ibrox were applied to the seating in a hideous reference to the 1971 Ibrox disaster when 66 fans died.
This graffiti with other references to the Her Late Majesty The Queen was drawn in chalk, but the harm has been done, and both teams have vehemently condemned the actions of some fans as vile.
A Rangers spokesperson said: “Rangers condemns in the strongest possible terms the graffiti and stickers left by a section of the Hibernian supporters at Ibrox this afternoon.
“The Ibrox Disaster remains the darkest day in our club’s history, and continues to affect a number families to this day. The mocking and celebration of such an event is outrageous, and has no place in any football stadium or society as a whole.
“Rangers will be pleased to work with Hibernian to identify those responsible.”
A Hibernian FC spokesperson said on Saturday: “Hibernian FC is aware of the intolerable graffiti and stickers found in the away end at Ibrox today and condemns the behaviour of the individuals that were involved.
“The Club will work with Rangers to identify those responsible and will take the most serious action possible against anyone involved.
“If any Hibernian FC supporter has any information that could assist the Club to help identify these individuals, they should contact club@hibernianfc.co.uk and the information provided will be dealt with in the strictest of confidence.”
First Minister Humza Yousaf said: “This is outrageous. The Ibrox disaster is a tragedy we remember and mourn to this day.
“I am pleased to see the strong statement from Hibs to say they will work with Rangers to identify those responsible and take the most severe action possible.”
One Hibs fan pointed out that the club will know who bought the away tickets for these seats, and another said there were also similar stickers put on cars around Ibrox on Saturday.
The match result was 4-0 to Rangers under their new manager Philippe Clement.
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