Ally McCoist has branded Ally Pally crowd treatment of Cameron Menzies during the World Darts Championship as unacceptable.
The former Rangers and Scotland striker spoke out after the Ayrshire ace broke down in tears on the stage during his defeat to Leonard Gates. McCoist had been in contact with Menzies prior to the match and made his feelings clear on the events of Monday night during a broadcast on talkSPORT.
He said: “It goes with the turf I think, Cameron’s a brilliant lad, I know him, I spoke to him, smashing lad, particularly in an arena like that where he can hear it, see it, and it’s so visible. Anybody that has performed in an Old Firm derby, would tell you, particularly the opposition stadium, the abuse that you take, with the greatest respect it’s unacceptable.
“Right, it is unacceptable. Some of the things that are shouted at football matches, in particular, any other walk of life, you did it in the street, you go to jail. So it should not be allowed. But there is an element of fans, 100 per cent entitled to voice opinions at sporting events, people dancing and enjoying themselves having a couple of drinks.
“There’s something great about it, but if it starts affecting people’s mental health, that’s something that should be looked at. There should always be a level of respect. There should always be, there won’t be probably in some cases, a level of respect between the fans and the participants.”
