Russell Martin Targeted In Sectarian Abuse

[JFK-1 1,675]

And they're apparently stupid enough to put it online themselves. An appreciated stupidity.

[ian1964 10,419]

Scum fans don't love football, they just hate Rangers

[ian1964 10,419]

 

[ian1964 10,419]

Graeme McGarry: End of OBFA won't signal the return of bigotry, it never went away.

 

SO long, farewell, auf wiedersehen goodbye. The Offensive Behaviour at Football Act is no more.

A well-meaning, but ultimately flawed, piece of legislation has bitten the dust, and football fans will be judged once more on the same terms as any other member of society.

If you are not a football fan, then you are probably scratching your head as to how the end of a law that, for all intents and purposes, was designed to eradicate sectarianism from Scottish football can be a cause for celebration. But like the law itself, that is spectacularly missing the point.

Supporters of the bill who have been caterwauling that those who voted it into extinction have now given the green light for the flood gates of sectarianism to pour forth, have clearly not been attending major matches in Scotland since the inception of the OBFA in 2012.

All the old chants remain, and the bill has done absolutely nothing to stop large sections of crowds belting out the so-called ‘party tunes’. You only had to tune in to last week’s Old Firm derby to hear them, despite the best efforts of the television company, and all while the OBFA was still in place.

Police officers may well have felt emboldened by their new powers against football fans to pick off a few young members of the herd for comparatively minor infringements, but it was never going to allow them to wade into thousands of punters in the body of the kirk while they were belting out the age-old nonsense that if anything, has become even more prevalent in the last six years.

Those who were arrested were often detained for things that weren’t sectarian at all, and although a huge amount of these charges were eventually thrown out, it is difficult for a young person to not only go about their lives with such a thing hanging over their head, but to explain to an employer why their name might have appeared in the local paper.

The wording of the bill was always problematic, as there are huge grey areas over what exactly constitutes offensive behaviour. Heck, it is even difficult to ascertain what exactly can be deemed as sectarian. One man’s bigoted anthem is another man’s folk song, and while I am no apologist for the sort of bile that is spewed forth from Scotland’s terraces on a weekly basis, you just have to take a quick glance at the Twitter debate unfolding this week since the act was voted down to see what a minefield it is.

So, what is the answer? Honestly, I have no idea. Sectarianism and bigotry is still a huge part of the matchday experience in Scotland, but I have always believed that it is a societal problem that is given a platform and amplified massively within football grounds, rather than a problem that is engendered within football that spills over into our streets.

Surely it is incumbent on the government to try to deal with the issues of sectarianism at as early an age as possible? For me, a fair chunk of the money currently spent on extra policing to kettle a group of young lads from the train station to the ground, would be better spent on getting into classrooms and trying to combat a generations-old issue by teaching it out of children.

But as the sport is the primary excuse that people use to spout forth views that they wouldn’t dream of in almost any other modern-day setting, then there is also more that Scottish football itself could do be doing to help eradicate the problem.

I hope, and perhaps naively choose to believe, that there is a majority out there that would love to see the end of all the songs about battles from a bygone age and religion from folk who wouldn’t be seen dead in a church or chapel, particularly if there was a Sunday lunchtime kick-off.

Perhaps strict liability is the answer. But like it or not, there are a huge group of people out there on both sides of the divide who see absolutely nothing wrong with the current state of play. There are more 90-minute bigots out there than you might imagine, and a school of thought exists that all football is subject to extreme views and otherwise unacceptable language, and sectarianism is simply the Scottish ‘brand’.

It is hard to provide too much evidence to the contrary of charity Nil By Mouth’s claim that the SPFL seems happy to largely sweep the issue under the carpet. Whisper it, but not only is it a hugely complex problem to solve, but it’s good for business.

http://www.eveningtimes.co.uk/sport/16093931.Graeme_McGarry__End_of_OBFA_won__39_t_signal_the_return_of_bigotry__it_never_went_away/

[the gunslinger 3,366]

No one can take a crusade against sectarianism seriously while the state funds it in the guise of seperate education for catholics.

The police should be arresting the politicians if they want to change anything.

This was a snobs law designed to persecute the lower classes just like the mup on alcohol we now have.

Thats another one that will be repealed.

[RANGERRAB 3,263]

The OBFA got repealed because those who wanted it in the first place turned out to be the worst offenders.

[cooponthewing 1,139]

Nail on head GS

[JFK-1 1,675]

5 hours ago, the gunslinger said:

No one can take a crusade against sectarianism seriously while the state funds it in the guise of seperate education for catholics.

In my view this is the very root of it, the origin of a them and us outlook.  They have been made all manner of offers to end it such as educating them all in the same schools while even having entirely seperate classes but with simply a common entrance to the school.

 

Not good enough, turned it down, don't even want to use the same gate.

[compo 6,150]

Russel Martin should have hit them a good few hard kicks in the ballocks .