Rst.

Rangers Supporters Trust has received a "right of reply" after what it described as "vile rhetoric" appearing one the website of one of Northern Ireland's most popular newspapers.

The RST chairman Gordon Dinnie has written an article for the Belfast Telegraph online in response to comments made by Irish-based blogger and journalist Phil Mac Giolla Bhain in which he refers to the "fascist underclass who gather at Ibrox". He also described Rangers as "the new club".

The RST said the right of reply was in answer to what it described as an unwarranted attack on our fans and club".

The controversial comments came in an article on the Belfast Telegraph website responding to an analysis on sectarianism by Irish revisionist historian Ruth Dudley Edwards in which Mr Mac Giolla Bhain is described as "a long-time anti-Rangers warrior skilful in the dark art of winding up the Prods".

Mr Mac Giolla Bhain referred to Rangers in his response, saying: "Rather than being '...skilful in the dark art of winding up the Prods...' my very existence appears to incense some of the chaps that Ms Dudley Edwards frets about.

My journalism on the death of Rangers and the ongoing troubles of the new club at Ibrox continue to attract opprobrium to myself, but also to colleagues.

"This has led to police investigations, personal security advice from them and one Rangers chap in Scotland receiving six months in prison for threatening my book editor, Ms Angela Haggerty.

"I would point out to Ms Dudley Edwards that it is the job of journalists to prise open cracks and let in the light.

"Moreover, it is my intention to continue to do that, whether I am writing about the fascist underclass who gather at Ibrox, or the hierarchy of the Catholic Church."

Mr Dinnie's response headlined "Attack on Rangers is hateful bile" says: "In his recent, unprompted attack on Rangers FC and our supporters, shoehorned into a right of reply to Ruth Dudley Edwards, Phil Mac Giolla Bhain did nothing but betray his own prejudice.

He said: "Mac Giolla Bhain presents no facts to back up the vile language he uses to describe the Rangers support. People of all creeds and colours, of all shades of political opinion and of all religions and none, are welcome at Ibrox.

"Those attending Ibrox every other Saturday are men, women and children who love their club and are enjoying its footballing renaissance after several tortuous years."

Mr Dinnie added: "He calls Rangers a 'new club', but ignores the fact that judicial ruling and Scottish football authority statements have confirmed that Rangers remains the same club founded in 1872."

He concludes his piece by saying: "If facts are sacred, then Mac Giolla Bhain is not a devout man."