As the rest of Europe was being treated to television footage of their supporters’ violence during Wednesday night’s Champions League match, Rangers returned home yesterday to find that Uefa has issued them with a charge of “improper conduct”. The ugly clashes with stewards at the Steaua Stadium in Bucharest, where the Ibrox side drew 1-1 with Unirea Urziceni, would be shocking were they not so depressingly familiar.

Uefa made the decision to take action after a report from its delegate at the match. A fine, a points deduction, a ban, or even an order to play future European ties behind closed doors, are among the possible punishments should Rangers be found guilty. Uefa will consider the case at a meeting of its control and disciplinary body on Thursday.

Rangers confirmed that they would present to Uefa the concerns outlined by their chief executive, Martin Bain, in a statement released after the match. In it, he said that only two turnstiles had been open in the away section, half as many as the Scottish club had requested. He also claimed that frustrated fans had been sprayed with CS gas. While the supporters’ behaviour was “unacceptable”, Bain was “equally concerned” with a failure of organisation by their opponents, and the game’s European governing body.

Since then, more than a few Rangers fans have been leaping to each other’s defence. They claim that the seats they flung had not been ripped up (they had been lying around at their feet). They complain that the stewards, who were trying to accommodate a surge of latecomers, asked them to remove a banner. There were no refreshments in the away section, no toilets even. When a complaint about the facilities was made to a local police officer, he is alleged to have said: “What do you expect? Nothing works in Romania.”

Bain yesterday altered the emphasis, stressing that he was “not for a moment condoning” the fans’ actions, but his immediate reaction on Wednesday night sounded suspiciously like a buck being passed. Just as it was in 2007 when the club were fined £8,280 for trouble in a Uefa Cup match in Pamplona. On that occasion, Bain said their hosts, Osasuna, had let themselves and Uefa down with inadequate ticketing arrangements.

In the immediate aftermath of riots at the 2008 Uefa Cup final, fans pinned the blame on Greater Manchester Police, while the club’s chief executive claimed that the trouble had been “caused by supporters that don’t normally attach themselves to our support”. How he must have winced when the release of a police video exposed the truth.

In many ways, you have to feel sorry for Bain, who finds himself in an unenviable position. He has a duty to protect his club, as well as their followers. An admission of guilt in circumstances such as these would not endear him to the “traditionalists”. He is a moderniser, of whom the hard core are suspicious, which makes dragging the club from the dark ages a delicate business.

He had a point in Bucharest. The Steaua Stadium was barely fit for the Champions League. The home club had suggested that the game be played in Austria but their pleas to Uefa fell upon deaf ears. Uncovered on three sides, the crumbled terraces had more weeds than seats, and the feeling among Rangers fans was that the ground had changed not a jot since they were there 14 years ago.

But, at a time when the club are trying to rid themselves of the bigotry and hooliganism, Bain’s statement sent out all the wrong messages. Where was the unambiguous assertion that in no circumstances was such behaviour acceptable? Since when did poor access to a stadium explain antisocial behaviour inside it?

A promise to review all the available evidence before taking a stance on the matter would have sufficed. That, after all, is what the Uefa delegate has done, and reached the conclusion that there is a case to answer. Given their recent history of run-ins with the governing body, there could be serious consequences for Rangers. When the public announcer, anxious to calm the situation, said as much on Wednesday, it was on the advice of Uefa’s delegate.

In 2006, Rangers were fined twice by Uefa, once for their fans’ attack on a Villareal team bus, and once for sectarian chanting. The club were given a five-year probation period and warned that repeat offences would meet with increased punishments. This latest incident will determine just how serious that promise was.

Maybe then the problem will be properly addressed. At some point, somebody somewhere has to take responsibility, rather than hide behind an assortment of contributory factors. If, as Rangers seem to be suggesting, those were so influential, why did the vast majority of Rangers fans in Bucharest not join in the battle?

Supporters' roll-call of shame

Rangers’ supporters have been caught up in trouble again after the incident with Romanian stewards and police in Bucharest. Here are five other occasions the club would rather forget.

1969, Fairs Cup, semi-final Newcastle United 2-0 Rangers Rangers had an extra 10,000 ticketless fans in St James’ Park in addition to the 12,000 official allocation. Their fans invaded the pitch after Newcastle scored trying to get the game abandoned. A riot broke out after the game.

1972, Cup Winners’ Cup final Dynamo Moscow 2-3 Rangers Rangers fans battled with heavy-handed Spanish riot police after invading the pitch and it remains the only time a European trophy was presented inside a stadium. Rangers had to play the next two matches behind closed doors as punishment.

2006, Champions League, last 32 Villarreal 1-1 Rangers A Rangers fan broke a window on Villarreal’s team bus resulting in a £9,000 fine, while sectarian chanting landed the club with a further £13,000 fine.

2007, Uefa Cup, last 16 Osasuna 1-0 Rangers Rangers fans clash with Spanish riot police at a Uefa Cup match in Pamplona. The club blamed Osasuna for a lack of segregation and they were also fined, but the Ibrox club were only fined £8,280 after Uefa heard of Rangers’ efforts to eradicate the problem.

2008, Uefa Cup, final Zenit St Petersburg 2-0 Rangers An estimated 150,000 Rangers fans invaded Manchester, but when a giant screen in the city centre failed, it sparked a riot where shops and vehicles were badly damaged. Gangs of fans had running battles with police, showering officers with bottles and bricks.