Rangers fans urged to join minute’s applause for dad-of-five who ‘never woke up’

A grieving father is requesting that Rangers supporters honour his son during this weekend’s Old Firm match at Ibrox Stadium.

On March 5, Ben Sutherland, 35, unexpectedly passed away at his Bathgate, West Lothian, home. His friends and family plan to give him a minute of applause during Sunday’s Celtics vs. Rangers game.

father of five The five children that Ben left behind were Keyleigh, 18, Morgan, 15, Drake, 8, and the twins, Hannah and Jackson, who are seven years old. Ben suffered from sleep apnea. The well-known Gers supporter owned his own company, Kustom Wraps, which sold adhesive vinyl for kitchen countertops and appliances.

On the morning of Ben’s death, his distraught father Rab Sutherland, 58, went to his Bathgate home because he was unable to reach Ben on the phone.
Rab stated in an interview with the Record: “Everything happened so quickly. Ben’s phone was ringing when I met his mother Sharon outside, and since we weren’t getting a response, we called the police.

“When the cops showed up, they broke down the door to get inside before telling us the bad news. Ben simply fell asleep and didn’t wake up.”

Rab is still having trouble accepting the loss of another of his children, having lost another son to cancer 21 years ago.

He did, however, thank the family and friends who came to Ben’s funeral and gave an account of how Rangers and Celtics supporters joined forces to honour Ben that day.

Rab went on: “After fighting cancer, my 16-year-old son Robert passed away the same week that Ben turned 21 years old.

“I am having a lot of difficulty dealing with Ben’s passing, and our family is not handling it well. Callum and Aaron, his brothers, in particular, are struggling with everything.”The crematorium was completely full, and we were able to give him a wonderful farewell.

“It was such a special way to celebrate his life that everyone who attended the funeral was asked to wear bright colours. People even showed up wearing Celtic, Rangers, England, and Scotland jerseys. It will always be a part of me and means the world to me.”

Rab is now hoping that the other Rangers fans will join him in remembering his son by applauding for a minute.
“Ben was a huge Rangers fan and the club meant so much to him,” Rab continued. Whenever he could, he would go to games with his season ticket. It would therefore mean a great deal to us all as a family if we could have this minute of applause in the 35th minute.

“If my fellow Gers fans honoured my son in this manner, I don’t know how I would handle it. It would be very touching, particularly for something as significant as an Old Firm fixture.”

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