Ally still Mar from happy at Euro miss
Light Blues legend Ally McCoist bel ieves Rangers would have become the first British club to win the Champions League if it hadn’t been for Marseille chairman Bernard Tapie’s dodgy dealings.
The Ibrox men were one goal away from reaching the revamped tournament ’s first final in 1993 and, 29 years later, McCoist is still convinced Walter Smith’s side were robbed of the trophy.
In that season only eight champions entered the group stage and Gers finished one point behind the French club, who went on to beat AC Milan 1-0 in the final.
Asked by Four Four Two if he believed Rangers would have won it if it hadn’t been for alleged corruption by Marsei l le, he replied: “Yes, without a doubt. We were a goal away from the Champions League Final in 1993, which is often forgotten. We d rew 2- 2 wi th Marseille at Ibrox and 1-1 in France.
“If we’d scored another in either of those games we’d have been in the first- ever final that year.
“Marseille finished top with nine points and we were second with eight so one more goal against them would’ve been enough.
“It would’ve been Milan in the final and you better believe that we were good enough
to win it – Marseille beat them.
“Of course, you r ememb e r the p r oblem s wi t h Marseille and Bernard Tapie, their owner. We really felt cheated by the situation.”
Marsei l le were then banned from defending their title by UEFA after being found guilty of bribing players and matchfixing. They were also stripped of their 1993 Ligue 1 title as a result.
As Scotland prepare for the play-offs and the chance to make it to the World Cup in Qatar, McCoist also admits he cried when Scotland manager Craig Brown left him out of his squad for France ’98, the last time the national team qualified.
“I was devastated,” he said. “It was the worst moment in my football career. I can remember weeping – I was 35 but I still wept.
“To this day I still think I should have gone to th a t tournament. I can still feel the pain but, on the whole, I had more good days than bad ones in my career.”