Rangers have expressed their “anger and frustration” about the issues faced by supporters and staff in Thursday's Europa League clash with Porto.
Knowing that a top-24 spot was out of reach, Danny Rohl's side were looking to sign off their European campaign with a positive result. Unfortunately for the Scottish side, the contest ended in a 3-1 defeat despite taking an early lead through Djeidi Gassama. Rodrigo Mora equalised before a Francisco Moura effort, and an Emmanuel Fernandez own goal condemned Rangers to their sixth defeat of the league phase.
As a result of the defeat, the Gers finished their European campaign in a disappointing 32nd spot with just four points to their name.
According to BBC Sport, Rangers supporters were held inside Estadio do Dragao for up to two hours after the match on Thursday.
Rangers issue statement following supporter complaints
Rangers released a statement after the game, explaining that they share the “anger and frustration” with their supporters after receiving “multiple” complaints about the treatment of their supporters.
The club statement read: “Following tonight’s (Thursday's) match in Porto, we’ve received multiple reports from supporters and staff about issues in and around the stadium.
“That’s not what anyone who travelled to support Rangers should have had to deal with, and we share the concern, anger and frustration felt by those affected. We will be gathering complaints and feedback and will pursue this with the relevant parties.”
FGG says: Supporters deserve better treatment
It is unclear whether the reports of supporters being held for up to two hours after the game are the focus of the complaints from those in attendance, or if there were other issues that also affected those in attendance at Estadio do Dragao.
Ultimately, supporters deserved to be treated fairly and with respect, which appears to be lacking in this case. Unless something is stated to the contrary, there does not appear to be a valid reason for holding fans back so long that it would have been around midnight by the time they left the ground on Thursday.