Michael Beale urges Rangers fans to respect minute's silence for Ron Gordon before Hibs clash

Michael Beale has urged the Rangers support to show respect to Ron Gordon's bereaved family as Hibs prepare to pay tribute to their late owner on Wednesday.

The Leith outfit wore black armbands at Livingston on Saturday as they returned to action in the Scottish Premiership for the first time since the US-based businessman's death and plan another celebration of his memory. Sunshine on Leith will play before kick-off with fans invited to take part in a minute's applause.

But Ibrox boss Beale does not want a repeat of the shameful scenes ahead of the Viaplay Cup final, when large sections of the Rangers support interrupted a similar mark of respect with sectarian chants. He said: "Whenever there is a minute's silence or applause, it is the respect for the family. We can all relate to that, can't we? Everybody should give it the same respect they would want for themselves."

A statement on the Hibs website read: "Ahead of kick-off, the Club will pay a special tribute to Ron, where supporters will be able to show their appreciation and remember him together. We'd encourage supporters to bring their scarves for this moment.

"We urge all Hibernian FC supporters attending the match to arrive in their seats 15 minutes ahead of kick-off. In the warm-ups ahead of the game, the Hibs team will wear special warm-up t-shirts with 'May the sunshine of Leith, shine on you always Ron' on the front and 'RIP Ronald J Gordon August 1954 – February 2023' on the back.

"During the game, the club will mark Ron’s age with the number 68 on their shorts, a commemorative message will also be printed onto our home shirt, and the players will don black armbands during the match."

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