Today, on his way out of the SPFL meeting to discuss league reconstruction, the chairman of Alloa told reporters that clubs will vote “unanimously” to reject the SFA’s plans to introduce Strict Liability regulations in Scottish football.
These appalling plans, which will seek to punish clubs, with sanctions ranging from closure of stands to points deductions, for the behaviour of small numbers of fans, have been the subject of much discussion on the forums and blogs, with the SFA’s Stewart Regan coming in for special scrutiny and condemnation, as he seeks to create football’s own Offensive Behaviour law.
Today’s announcement comes as no surprise to those of us familiar with this issue – clubs know there is no way they can legislate against a few cretins and have rejected these types of proposals on two prior occasions – but it continues to worry many people that they’ve again reared their heads.
What is even more infuriating is that according to reports, the SPFL will now seek to lobby the Scottish Government for the funds to install “facial recognition software” at games.
Quite what good this will do, when so many of the miscreants cover their faces with scarves, remains to be seen, but this certainly has broad, sweeping implications that go well beyond football.
Scotland has never had a hooliganism problem like other countries, but we’re now clearly heading for a place where policing measures are every bit as harsh as they were in England during the 80’s when football fans were amongst the most photographed and filmed people in the country outside of the celebrity jet-set.
Quite what the vast majority of fans have done to merit such scandalous intrusion and scrutiny I don’t know, but it’s just another brick in the wall, just another step towards sanitising our grounds completely of any behaviour certain people don’t like.
We already don’t allow alcohol in stadiums, although you can buy a beer at concert, a darts match, a rugby game or indeed any other similar pastime.
Football fans are already the subject of draconian laws, which make criminal in a football ground (or on the way to a match) that which would be perfectly legal anywhere else.
How much more of this do fans have to put up with?
At a time when more Scots are attending games than have in a while, at a time when our national sport and its clubs are in the best health they’ve been in for years, the very people charged with promoting the sport seem insistent on driving away as many fans as they can.
You’d almost think this was payback for something, wouldn’t you?
The simple truth is that football fans are, and have always been seen to be, “fair game” for the authorities.
We have no high profile lobby batting for us; no-one wants to stand on our side of the fence.
We are treated, and viewed, as social outcasts by large swathes of the population.
Confessing to being a “football supporter” – especially from Glasgow – is still one of the surest ways to stop a conversation in its tracks in certain parts of Scotland.
We are stigmatised like never before.
We are targeted like no other social group.
God alone knows how much tax payers money has already been spent “policing” football fans in this country in the past few years, and how much court time has gone to waste dragging young guys who’ve never committed a crime in their lives in front of the beaks.
Now our own governing bodies want more?
I wouldn’t trust the SFA and the SPFL with that kind of power.
God knows what they’d use it for.
When do we say “enough is enough”?
Who speaks for ordinary football fans?
Nobody.
Nobody at all.
That’s how these people keep getting away with it.
this is shocking , big brother , we will all be covering our faces , jx
rival fans need to put their differences to one side and ORGANISE – Our civil liberties are at risk –
DO NOT ALLOW MEDIA , FOOTBALL AND POLITICAL AUTHORITIES to
put group of fans against each other .
I don’t get it at all. I hate going to the football now. The way the police even look at you tells a story. Facial recognition just implies that fans are guilty of something, guilty until proven innocent. Where was the national outrage at girls getting raped at the concerts in bellahouston park? The guys pissing In people’s gardens, the attacks. The videos of girls beating other girls up. The rapes at t in the park, the bottlings. The racist chants at the darts in Glasgow. Stuff being thrown at competitors. The only time I seen trouble (proper trouble) was a Celtic fan being racist towards Kayal, I told him to shut the f up or leave. He shut up and apologised after the game. Football fans being treated like an underclass.
Our government, our police service, our governing bodies, our media and the fans of all clubs throughout the country, right up to this day and age, have no issues at all with sectarian singing in stadia. “Police State Stadiums” will only have a bearing on ‘ONE’ club to even up statistics. Take a bow, Christine Grahame.
http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/13039940.Grahame_urged_to_stand_down_during____sectarian____investigation/
Appearing at an Orange Hall or Masonic Temple near you. Hail effin Hail.
Nothing new! Mr Orwell was writing about this last century
Sorry gents as an overseas worker does anyone know down to what level of football stadia this proposal will be enforced? In my youth Cumnock v Auchinleck was tasty, sectarianism was rife, as was wanton violence at a lot of junior games especially local rivals. Fixed or portable cameras, so as they can follow certain teams? Why is the Scottish Football authority taking the lead and not the police as security is their job? More info please.
I am all for cracking down on sectarian morons, you know, the type sung by ‘minorities ‘ of 40,000 plus but this is not the way. It would probably not be used for this anyway. They would rather go for the easy targets. Oh, by the way, the police have been taking photos at Celtic Park for years now and breaking doors down in the middle of the night.
No sevco no sense there’s too many sympathizers n not enough fair minded in Scottish football and when it all comes back and bites them on the arse the buck will be passed back guess where
Great stuff.
It’s funny that you should mention taxpayers’ money…
https://theclumpany.wordpress.com/2016/01/19/taking-liberties/