Football: Coin attack on Rangers fans

RANGERS ARE believed to be considering protesting to Uefa, European football's governing body, about the treatment their supporters received at the hands of PAOK Salonika's fans during Tuesday night's Uefa Cup tie. Bob Brannan, their chief executive, is expected to have talks with the chairman, David Murray, within the next couple of days about whether to make an official complaint.

If they do, that could spell trouble for the Greek club, who were banned from European competition for two years in 1992 when fans rioted against Paris St-Germain.

Brannan, along with the club's security officer, Laurence McIntyre, sat with the small group of Ibrox supporters at the Toumbas stadium. Both men were appalled at what developed during the match. "It was very scary, not at all a pleasant experience," Brannan said. "We were subjected to all sorts of missiles. A flare was thrown, pieces of fencing were aimed at us, bottles were thrown and coins were coming down throughout the 90 minutes. We could have sat in the main stand and distanced ourselves from this but we thought it was the proper thing to do.

"What I must emphasise is the outstanding behaviour of the Rangers supporters in that area. They took all the abuse and did not retaliate. They did the club a lot of credit."

The Rangers fans saw their side hold out for a 0-0 draw to go through to the first round proper, 2-0 on aggregate. But they face stiff opposition when the draw is made tomorrow.

Dick Advocaat, their coach, is fully aware of that. "Although I recognise I have very good players, there are no guarantees," he said. "Who knows, we could be paired with one of the major teams in Europe. I suspect we can look ahead to what will be a very demanding tie."

Kilmarnock yesterday angrily rejected an offer of pounds 50,000 from Motherwell for the former Scotland international, Pat Nevin. The Rugby Park club say they will be taking independent legal advice on the issue and will be asking Roger Mitchell, the chief executive of the Scottish Premier League, to investigate.

Kilmarnock's chief executive, Ian Welsh, said: "My board feel they have been railroaded into a difficult position by Motherwell. They feel strongly that Pat Nevin should complete his contract and are disappointed at all the media speculation."

Kilmarnock say they are expecting Nevin to honour his contract, which runs until 2000. The former Chelsea player has revealed he wants to quit the Ayrshire club for family reasons. He is wanted by the new Motherwell owner, John Boyle, to take on an as-yet unspecified role at boardroom level, as well as to continue to play.