POLICE are taking no further action over the organisers of a petition signed by hundreds calling on BBC Scotland to remove senior sports reporter Chris McLaughlin from his job.
The force has now confirmed they will not be taking the matter further.
A police spokesman said: "No criminality was established and we have given advice and guidance to the person making the complaint. That person is happy with that."
The complained-about part of the blog said: "To all the haters, heed this warning. Your articles and comments are being noticed. We will notify the club of any untruths, inaccuracies or unfair treatment. If the club are unwilling to take action then we will.
"We will look into the history of each and every individual or company embroiled in this hate fest, and we will look to hurt you in any way legally possible. If you lose your business, your home, your husband or wife, your children or your freedom, don't say you weren't warned."
Written in the first person, it included what could be deemed as threats to journalists regarded as making unfair comments about Rangers. The blogger complained that the club had been “battered” by “the governing bodies, the media, politicians and opposition fans.” It continued: that the blog was blog, therefore, has been set up to defend the honour of the club and its supporters
As police became involved, the blog was removed, the blog site became unavailable, and the Bears Fightback Twitter feed became hidden from public view with only confirmed followers having access.
The blog site and the Twitter feed are now back up and running.
Bears Fightback which described the issue as "a total non-event" said in announcing it had begun blogging again: "Bears Fightback won’t be intimidated by certain journalists who don’t seem to understand the import of the word ‘legal’."
Journalist Jim Spence, formerly BBC Scotland sports reporter, was amongst those who were vocal in their disgust at the blog comments.
The petition emerged as the BBC announced it had launched a fresh Ibrox boycott after Rangers banned Mr McLaughlin from the club ground over three weeks ago. It now has over 700 supporters.
The BBC imposed a boycott of Ibrox after the broadcaster was told that the reporter was again not welcome at Ibrox.
The Bears Fightback petition complained that the BBC did not send a reporter to Ibrox when Rangers had beaten Livingston 4-1.
It added: "This is unacceptable."
The petition goes on: "This 'journalist' is banned because he has proved on multiple occasions that he cannot conform to the BBC guidelines on impartiality."
The BBC said it was using "agency copy" to cover Rangers' 1-0 win over Falkirk in the Scottish Championship on Saturday. The BBC say no journalists will go to Ibrox to cover matches or attend press conferences until the issue over Mr McLaughlin has been resolved.
BBC Scotland has previously said the ban on Mr McLaughlin is unjustifiable and "we stand by the integrity and the quality of our journalism".
The BBC dropped a nearly month-long boycott of Ibrox in August after Rangers agreed to drop a ban on the reporter following talks.
Mr McLaughlin was told he was not welcome after being accused of filing misleading and unbalanced reports by Rangers.
Rangers have said the BBC know they are more than welcome to attend matches and press conferences at Ibrox.
After the club confirmed they had reimposed the ban on Mr McLaughlin it said: "This is about balance and fairness. It is Rangers' view that after having asked for, and having been promised, exactly that - nothing more, and certainly not favour from this or any other reporter - it has not been forthcoming.
"The BBC know they are welcome but once again they, in their wisdom, have chosen not to attend Ibrox thereby denying licence payers the opportunity to see and hear from Rangers on a publicly-funded platform which is supposed to be for everyone. Rangers fans are entitled to ask if this is an abuse of the BBC's privileged position."
The complained-about blog
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