‘Personal Trauma’ – Ex-Ibrox staff member speaks out after wrongful Rangers accusation

Jim McAlister, a former kitman for the Rangers, has discussed his “personal trauma” during his most

recent tribunal with the team.

Rangers were found to have broken their contract when McAlister left for Ibrox last year,

according to a Glasgow employment tribunal’s decision last month.

Since then, the devoted Rangers supporter has accepted a position with Al-Ettifaq, a Saudi Arabian team

led by former Rangers manager Steven Gerrard.

“I wanted to put on record my thanks to everyone who has supported me since the Employment Tribunal in Glasgow

adjudicated that I was unfairly dismissed by Rangers,” McAlister said on his personal Instagram account,

according to the Daily Record [8 February].

As you can guess, facing false accusations causes pain not only for me personally but also for my close friends and family,

all of whom were aware that the accusations lacked any solid evidence.

The resilience of the Rangers family, the football community, and their sense of justice and fairness

were also lessons I gained.

“I wanted to thank all those who took the time to post support for me and my family and who also sent personal messages.”

Rangers left embarassed by Ibrox saga

As Heart & Hand founder David Edgar said when the tribunal concluded, Rangers’ actions were “not on”

and lessons need to be learned.

A court determined that McAlister had his employee rights breached and the club are therefore culpable.

Rangers was forced to pay its ex-employee £13,000, but the real damage would have been

caused by the shame of the entire situation rather than that meagre amount.

McAlister’s exit was oddly timed; The Athletic revealed in October that the kitman had been “dismissed unexpectedly.”

McAlister helped Jimmy Bell as the Rangers’ kitman at the end of his playing career, even turning

down a testimonial at Greenock Morton.

He described it as a “dream role” and said that he served as chief kitman following Bell’s death until being fired.

McAlister, who was once the manager of the Gers, is currently employed in Saudi Arabia by Gerrard,

the former manager of the team.

Now that the litigation is over and this public declaration has been made, the issue can be put to rest.