BBC Sport Scotland response to rambling paranoia by Mr. Bananas of Glasgow

Dear Mr Bananas,

Thank you for your comments.

We can assure you that BBC Scotland's approach to this particular story
reflected a typically impartial stance.

The story was carried by most, if not all, of the media outlets in
Scotland and much of the UK media followed suit.

UEFA stated that they were looking at evidence brought to their
attention of sectarian singing and chanting by Celtic supporters in
Barcelona. That this did not subsequently develop into any sort of
formal enquiry does not mean that there was no story.

Just because a decision was taken that "no disciplinary case will be
opened" does not mean that there was not at the outset considered to be
a case that merited some level of scrutiny.

The withdrawal of the Rangers players from the Scotland squad and the
situation that saw Barry Robson returned to his club were fairly and
accurately reported without any undue reference to the conspiracy
theories much loved by fans.

The views of Dado Prso, as a former professional footballer and
team-mate of the Rangers players, were relevant and likely to be of
interest.

He simply commented, from an informed perspective, that players were
likely to be tired and conceivably less than fully fit at a point in the
season where they could have played up to 50 games.

We hope this answers the points of your email.

Regards,

BBC Sport Scotland


Thank you for your reply.

However I am not surprised at the sentiments expressed within. Your response regarding UEFA's investigation misses the point I was making. Indeed this may well have been an issue worthy of coverage, however the fact that it was widely believed that the source of these allegations was a Scottish ex-journalist would also, I believe, be newsworthy, but as yet has not been brought to light by the BBC or to my knowledge any other Scottish media outlet.

Why a headline such as "Celtic fans cleared of sectarian chanting" could not have been used, instead of one that infers that a CASE was "dropped" i.e. that there is some doubt as to whether anything untoward had taken place, I suppose is explained away as another coincidence. Yes indeed there was a STORY but the STORY was that Celtic fans and the club were CLEARED.

Or does BBC Sport Scotland advocate guilt by assumption and innuendo in the lack of any evidence?

As for the views of Dado Prso - as a former Rangers employee, he is hardly likely to represent an unbiased and balanced view on the actions taken by the club and a doctor who was also a former employee of Rangers. If the BBC honestly feels that publishing Prso's comments verbatim under a sympathetic headline of "Rangers players deserve a break" with no form of critical analysis, represents fair and balanced reporting, then you may as well publish Rangers FC PR releases word for word in future. By all means print what Prso has to say however a second opinion from an impartial source may also have proven worthwhile.

Incidentally I also refer to BBC coverage of Stephen McManus's withdrawal from a previous Scotland squad in 2006 [ironically under Walter Smith's stewardship] which asserts that McManus was "forced to withdraw by his club". http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/internationals/5238616.stm

I can only assume that Stilian Petrov was unavailable at the point to vouch for the fact that McManus needed a rest?

To date I can find no mention on the BBC website concerning the views expressed by Gordon Strachan regarding Barry Robson's state of fitness when reporting for the Scotland international squad. This is especially strange considering the prominence given by the BBC to Dado Prso's comments. Never mind I'm sure that is just another "conspiracy theory" as you so helpfully refer to in your response.

I find it almost laughable but at the same time deeply disappointing that the BBC should choose to justify its stance on these issues by saying, in essence, "it was reported that way by everyone else in Scotland and the UK ergo these pronouncements are fair and impartial". I niavely thought that an organisation of the BBC's reputation and standing would be capable of independent investigation before coming to fair, impartial and reasoned conclusions based on evidence.

Not, as it appears to myself and many other fans, casting hints and innuendos by selective wording of headlines, repeating PR verbatim from ex-Rangers FC employees and jumping to the drumbeat of the lowest quality tabloid trash in Scotland.

I do thank you for taking the time to respond to me. In all honesty, I did not expect the BBC to admit it panders to the same malaise afflicting most of the printed press in Scotland but was intrigued as to what the justification would be for this propaganda (we should swap glasses - where you see "conspiracy theories", I see "propaganda" and "the party line").

Unfortunately I remain in a state of questionable mental health and continue to be a devotee of those much loved "conspiracy theories"

Regards,
Mr Bananas