Catholic signs for Glasgow Rangers

Press, 17 June 1986, Page 8

Catholic signs for Glasgow Rangers

By

ROBIN CHARTERIS

London correspondent

A “Lone Ranger” is tackling bigotry in Scottish soccer circles by becoming the first Catholic to sign for the staunchlyProtestant club, Glasgow Rangers. John Spencer, aged 15, a schoolboy international and a member of the club’s boys’ team for almost two years, has a twoyear contract with the club whose fans employ a range of chants and songs that deride Catholicism and the Pope.

The move follows the appointment last April of the Scottish captain, Graeme Souness, as player-manager to restore the fortunes of Rangers, who slipped half-way down the premier league last season. Souness said then he would sign a Catholic player and it was “make-up-your-mind-time” for

bigoted followers. Britain’s “Times” newspaper reported that the secretary of the association of Rangers supporters’ clubs, Mr David Miller, made it clear that old habits die hard, although an exception might be made for Spencer. “We are led to believe that while John Spencer went to a Catholic School as a result of a mixed marriage, he was christened Protestant, so we consider him one of us although he was brought up in another faith,” Mr Miller said. The “Times” commented that club officials have defended their policy by saying they were prepared to sign a Catholic providing he was good enough. The dubious conclusion to that, noted the “Times,” was that for decades Rangers had found none to have sufficient talent