There’s a big difference between talking tough online and actually standing in front of an organised mob in real life. That’s the point a lot of people seem determined to miss when this whole debate comes up.

Mob mentality is nothing like a controlled fight

Folk keep bringing up fighting experience, gyms, training and all the rest of it. But a fighting gym is controlled. It is one on one. There are rules, there are coaches, there is a ref, there is a line you don’t cross. None of that exists when you are dealing with a mob.

Once you are up against a group, especially one that is organised and used to acting together, all that one-on-one stuff goes straight out the window. It is not about who can throw a punch. It is about numbers, fear, and power. And if you are just a normal supporter, you are never winning that.

The reality of facing an organised crew

When a group is organised, connected and drilled in what they do, it is a different level entirely. In the case of the fighting crews tied into ultra groups, they are not just a noisy bunch of lads who like a sing-song. They are trained, they know each other, and they move as a unit.

So what chance does a single punter have in the middle of that? Or even a few punters who are just there to watch Rangers and go home? The idea that some bloke from the stands is going to stand up and sort them out is fantasy. That is how people end up seriously hurt. Or worse, their families dragged into something they never asked for.

This is why most normal fans keep their heads down. Not because they are cowards, but because they have jobs, kids, mortgages and lives outside of football. Who genuinely wants serious bother at their door over a group they never created and can’t control?

Keyboard bravado helps nobody

There is also far too much chat about who would do what, who is hard, who is not, and who would "stand up" to them. Truth is, most of that is just online masculinity. It is easy to say you would front somebody when you are sitting behind a screen and not actually walking into a crowd of organised boys.

So ask the simple question: would you really walk up to that mob and challenge them, face to face, with no protection and no backup? Very few would, and to be honest, that is completely understandable. That doesn’t make anyone less of a supporter.

The club holds the real power, not individual fans

Only Rangers as a club, working alongside the police and the authorities, can properly deal with any organised group that is causing trouble. They control who gets into the stadium. They control the season tickets. They decide what is tolerated and what is not within our ground.

Fans in the stands shouldn’t be expected to police this situation themselves. That is not their job and never has been. At best, the club might make a token gesture, issue a few bans or statements, but history shows determined groups usually find a way back in unless there is firm, consistent action from the top.

If Rangers genuinely want a safer and better environment for ordinary supporters, then the responsibility sits with the club to sort it properly. Asking individual fans to risk themselves and their families to take on an organised mob is not just unfair. It is completely unrealistic.

Written by Sunshine supporter FC: 10 December 2025

Tags: squad