Aberdeen fans have been divided over images which appear to show midfielders Lewis Ferguson and Ross McCrorie travelled to Seville to support Rangers in last week’s Europa League final. But was it ok?
A quick look through social media shows Dons fans have differing viewpoints.
It ranges from the belief any player or coach who has an allegiance to another Scottish Premiership team shouldn’t be on the books at Pittodrie, to those who say they should be able to do what they want in their spare time and support for another side doesn’t have a bearing on their work with the Reds.
In my opinion could’ve watched it in a bar or something in Scotland and I that would nearly be acceptable. Brother or no brother, no player currently in Scotlands top flight should be travelling to Seville to support a team from within the league even more so a rival team.
— Robert Gillespie (@RGillespie1996) May 18, 2022
Even on our sports desk, opinions are mixed – and here are two of those viewpoints, from chief football writer Sean Wallace and joint sports editor Ryan Cryle:
Sean Wallace – Aberdeen players can do what they like in their spare time, including supporting Rangers
The uproar from some Aberdeen supporters about Ross McCrorie and Lewis Ferguson attending Rangers’ Europa League final defeat is way over the top.
And I fear a small section of fans are in danger of making Aberdeen toxic to play for.
It is the latest incident in recent months where Dons fans have received a backlash relating to Rangers.
In February, Christian Ramirez was slated for an innocuous tweet about Rangers Euro clash at Borussia Dortmund.
Aberdeen striker Christian Ramirez deleted a tweet saying "3-1 what a game so far" during Rangers' Europa League win at Borussia Dortmund following an angry reaction from Pittodrie fans pic.twitter.com/ZiVbjpiUP5
— Scottish Fitbaw (@SFitbaws) February 18, 2022
Some members of the Red Army are in danger of letting their hatred of one club over-ride their love of Aberdeen.
I have seen some fans online calling for McCrorie and Ferguson to be axed by the Dons for attending the final in Seville.
There have also been unsavoury online insults directed at Ferguson and McCrorie.
Aberdeen players are entitled to go where they like, and support any club they want, in their spare time.
It does not impact on their commitment to Aberdeen. The form of Ferguson and McCrorie in the recent season proves that.
McCrorie recently signed a new contract extension and Ferguson gave his all, despite the Dons knocking back an offer from then Premier League Watford last season.
The season is over and the players are on a summer break.
Players are not owned by the club, nor are they owned by the supporters.
They can do what they want during their holiday as long as it doesn’t bring the club into disrepute.
Travelling to support a Scottish club in a European final certainly does not fall into those parameters.
Aberdeen fans endured a horrific season – but McCrorie and Ferguson were two of the few players not culpable for a campaign from hell.
McCrorie was voted Aberdeen Player of the Year earlier this month by supporters.
Ferguson finished the season as the club’s top scorer on 16 goals.
Supporting one club has not impacted in any way on either players’ performance for Aberdeen.
Travelling to Spain to watch Rangers would have been an issue if it was during the Dons’ season. It wasn’t.
McCrorie’s twin brother Robby was on the bench in Seville and he arrived at Pittodrie from Rangers.
Ferguson’s dad Derek and uncle Barry are both Ibrox legends. It is no secret who they both support.
Ryan Cryle – After the season the Dons have just had, it’s about optics – and Seville trip was a bad look
Firstly, I don’t – like Sean – see any issue with Aberdeen players being supporters of other Scottish teams.
It’s unrealistic to expect Aberdeen to form a squad of north-east players who were boyhood fans from Dons-supporting families and then be competitive at the elite level.
That’s not modern football, and even in the club’s 1980s heyday many of the players – who went on to become Gothenburg Greats – were from Glasgow or elsewhere in the Central Belt. Signed for their footballing talents, not their club allegiances.
There are players in the current squad from backgrounds far removed from Scottish football, so they won’t be Aberdeen fans of course.
But the Scottish players – who’ve either joined the youth academy as youngsters or been signed by the club in adulthood as the club seeks the best talent available to them – are always going to be from diverse places all across the country. This means the likelihood is they might have grown up as fans of Rangers, Celtic, Hibs or Hearts.
Just like Dons fans who fell in love with their team (and football, as a result) in childhood, those affections will most likely remain for those players, regardless of who their current employer is.
Do I think support of another team affects players’ performances for Aberdeen? Not at all.
Premiership footballers get to where they are because they are winners and most have a rapacious desire to reach the highest level they can, and you don’t get there if you even consider compromising your professional pride on the pitch against any opponent. It’s been crystal clear over the season, Lewis Ferguson – who scored a late equaliser against Rangers – and Ross McCrorie were among the most driven members of the squad in that regard.
Where current Dons players being in Seville for Rangers’ Europa League Final defeat (or reports of Reds manager Jim Goodwin being at Parkhead to watch Celtic during the season) doesn’t sit well is in the context of the brutal campaign Aberdeen have just had.
Just for the folk who said it “doesn’t look like Ferguson” pic.twitter.com/UCS3ybPAwJ
— chidi (@FreeNwakali) May 23, 2022
It’s an optics thing.
The team won one post-split game as their disastrous Premiership season continued all the way to the end, with Aberdeen ultimately finishing a miserable 10th in the table – their worst campaign for close to a decade and one which has left supporters furious.
Barely an away win to speak of in 2021/22… just six points above the relegation play-off spot… now preparing for a maiden Premier Sports Cup group campaign instead of Europe. The litany of unwanted stats and facts is a long one.
For players to go to watch another Scottish team in Spain three days after what was a typically frustrating 0-0 home draw with St Mirren, at a time where they’d have been better lying low, is just a bad look.
Football is a short career, and there’s plenty of time on both sides of it to go to support your team. Knowing the dim view taken by some sections of the support to such things, and especially at this difficult moment in Aberdeen history, why poke the bear?
You’ve got to question the decision making.
🔴⚽️ Aberdeen’s summer shopping list – Off the back of @PJ_PThird’s Reds Rebuild series, running this week, we discuss what boss Jim Goodwin needs in every area of the park this summer.
The latest Northern Goal podcast is available here: https://t.co/7BPyVudICI pic.twitter.com/c7pjAhPgui
— EveningExpress Sport (@ee_sport) May 19, 2022
Conversation