Union Bears blast back at Rangers over banner ban and warn Ibrox board they won’t be silenced

The Union Bears have fired back to Rangers removing their planned banner for the Scottish Cup quarter-final with Raith Rovers as they launched a blistering attack on the club and police.

It was stated by the Ibrox club that the vocal supporters group 'elected to absent themselves from the stadium because the club would not permit the offensive anti-police banner display.' Michael Beale's men went on to win the match 3-0 thanks to Connor Goldson's header, James Tavernier's deflected effort, with Scott Arfield's late goal capping off a comfortable afternoon.

But it was another day of talking points off the pitch after the Union Bears told the board they took their eye 'off the ball' after winning Premiership title 55 during last Saturday's home game versus Kilmarnock. The group claim nobody informed them of the removal and have aimed another banner at Ross Wilson, calling the sporting director a 'director of failure. ' A statement released by the ultras group said: "Union Bears had planned to display various legitimate message banners at today's match highlighting different issues surrounding our club and support. Prior to the match, Police Scotland and Rangers FC jointly removed these materials without our knowledge and blocked access to regular matchday materials.

"From Rangers FC, this is a clear breakdown of trust and an attempt to silence our groups valid concerns. As a consequence, we made the difficult decision to remove active support and not enter the ground as a group. This attempt to suppress the feelings amongst the Rangers support will not be successful, and only stands to confirm the concerns that the fans hold."

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