Rangers fans rampaging through the streets of Manchester have betrayed the image of the Tartan Army as a peace-loving band of supporters applauded and loved throughout the football world. Professor Alan Bairner, of Loughborough University's School of Sport and Exercise Sciences, long ago picked out Rangers as having the biggest hooligan problem in the British game.

He issued warnings days before the Uefa Cup final at the City of Manchester Stadium that trouble was likely. He said yesterday: “It was completely predictable. The reputation of Rangers fans stretches back to the 1970s and is distinctly different from the Tartan Army.

“There has been a problem for a long time and perhaps the events in Manchester will now mean that something is done, because Rangers have the biggest problem in British football.”

The problems of sectarianism in Glasgow between the Protestant supporters of Rangers and the Catholic fans of Celtic have long been documented, but Bairner, himself a Scot, pointed out that Celtic took 100,000 fans to Seville in 2003 for their Uefa Cup final with barely a hint of trouble and the team was often welcomed to England to play in friendly matches. However, Rangers carry a distinctive and individual threat.

Bairner added: “This is not something that happens with the national team, nor does it happen with Celtic. It seems that where Rangers are, there is potential for trouble.”