Malmo’s decision to mildly mock Rangers on social media ahead of their upcoming clash is perfectly fine and just part of the game.
That’s according to the Swedish club’s manager Henrik Rydström, via Expressen, who believes any jokes about Philippe Clement’s side are more than acceptable.
Rangers travel to take on the Swedish side in matchday one of the Europa League’s new league format tomorrow, looking for a bright start to their European run after the disappointment of missing out on the Champions League.
The two sides are old foes after meeting in Europe in the past and Malmo looked to resurrect that this week with a cheeky swipe on social media.
A post simply stating ‘Welcome back to Malmo Rangers. We’ve missed you’ was accompanied by a video referencing previous meetings between the two sides, which have often gone in their favour.
The two sides met each other again in the same round in 2021 and the Swedish sides emerged victorious once more, winning 2-1 at Ibrox and then again at home.
The video even took a dig at Rangers relegation to the fourth division in 2011, before at least pointing out they ended up in the Europa League final in 2021.
It appears to have been an attempt at light-hearted history matters, believes Henrik Rydström.
“But it is impossible to measure how much (history matters),” he said.
“There are new players, new coaches. But we talk about this sort of thing in the Allsvenskan as well, about AIK not winning here for a very long time.
“Then there are also new players and new coaches, but somehow history can still be alive. My experiences from Scottish supporters are that they are passionate and happy. I see no problem with this.”