Here, on this site, and right across Celtic cyberspace the reaction to the abolition of the Offensive Behaviour at Football Act was met with near unanimous joy.
Those who had been discriminated against under its auspices were delighted that it had been consigned to the legislative bin someone once pulled it out of. Free speech advocates around the country were unified in offering their congratulations to all those who had opposed it.
In some corners of Sevconia there was some celebration too, but for a very different reason. They saw the OBAF act as profoundly “anti” their club.
In this they are mirrored by a section of our own support that thought it was the same; for the record I’ve never believed it was either.
One appalling and ignorant remark from a bigoted MSP notwithstanding it was not designed to target either side. It was anti football, anti football supporter, and perfectly in keeping with many of the SNP’s other elements of criminal justice policy; reactionary, right-wing and illiberal.
That section of Sevconia which rejoiced were not doing it because it represented a blow against governmental over-reach and a restoration of free expression in the one forum where that had been outlawed – a disgraceful fact none of its defenders ever bother trying to explain; no. Their delight came from having the freedom to sing some of their sectarian dirge again. They didn’t even disguise that. They openly boasted about it.
And as usual, their pig-ignorance and willingness to offend as many people as possible has no regard whatsoever for the potential consequences. Those consequences may well be coming. The Scottish government is not finished with football fans yet, and the worst of it is that the supporter’s reps know this full well as they’ve been engaged in discussions with their clubs over it for many months, and with the police and ministers as well.
The SNP is determined to force another anti-football law on us, probably in the form of some kind of Strict Liability framework. That would be enormously damaging to football in Scotland and fans would be voting with their feet before long as every song, every flag, every celebration would be scrutinised and punishment demanded for anything that even looked like an “infringement” of the rules. I don’t think they will get the votes for it, but the danger is acute nonetheless.
And into this dreadful situation came the Sevco fans today, who “treated” Sky’s viewers to a sectarian repertoire right out of the grand old days of yore. To top it off, they threw in a pitch invasion when the second goal went in … this is the second time their supporters have done this in the space of a year. When there was no punishment for their behaviour at Thistle last season I knew it was a matter of time before they did it again.
That kind of behaviour can spark a riot. When Hibs fans ran onto the pitch to celebrate their Scottish Cup triumph the year before last that’s exactly what it did spark. So bad were the scenes that day a whole mythology had to be created around them; Sevco fans, running onto the pitch to protect their players like a latter-day Raid On Entebbe, only without hostages.
Today their behaviour was dreadful, and with the Scottish Government watching, carefully, the case for Strict Liability was given another shot in the arm. They don’t care; they have a new hero in the crassly, arrogant Jason Cummings, a failure south of the border who’s returned to Scotland for an easier life. But their scandalous karaoke and their apparent belief that those barriers separating them from the pitch are for Other People is bad for the rest of us.
Of course, the SFA could make things better by citing the club under existing regulations … but that would demand that Regan and his people grow the balls they’ve lacked up until now. No wonder the busybodies of actual government think this is their area to step into.
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