The time for a real debate on strict liability is here. Celtic should support it.

Another weekend has passed. Another game at Ibrox ends in scandal and disgrace. And more and more, we find ourselves asking the same question: why isn’t this stuff stamped out? Why is it still tolerated? What is it going to take before something is finally done about it?

This morning, I wrote about the role of the media in all of this, and let’s not pretend they don’t bear some responsibility.

They’d love to dodge that responsibility. They’d love to deflect, to pretend this isn’t their problem, that they’ve no role to play in the solution.

But we all know they’re as bad as anyone—and worse than some—when it comes to this issue. Because if the media, as a whole, was determined to see this stuff removed from football grounds, a strong campaign from them would push others to act. They would lobby the governing bodies—and they’d get it done.

But without that kind of consistent pressure, the governing bodies will never act. Because they don’t want to govern. They don’t want the responsibility. They don’t want to put new regulations in place and then uphold them.

Everyone involved just wants as easy a life as possible. Our game is stagnant. It is stuck in the mud. It is run by absolute amateurs.

Worse still, it is run by moral cowards. No other governing body in world football would allow something like this to drag on for as long as it has. We have sectarian bile pouring out of the stands every single week.

If this was racism—black or white—they would deal with it. If it were anti-Jewish or anti-Islamic abuse, they would deal with it. But because this is seen as a cultural norm in Scotland, it’s brushed aside. That’s a disgraceful statement about this country. A disgusting reality to which I refuse to accommodate myself. This is the modern world, for God’s sake. It is a stain on this nation that this continues.

Today, John Swinney tried to put the onus on the clubs, and that is a total cop-out. The clubs won’t do it. The governing bodies are the only ones who can realistically bring order to this chaos.

They are the only people who can push clubs in one direction or another. And I am moved to ask: what is it going to take before they act, before they make a definitive statement that some things in Scottish football will no longer be tolerated?

It doesn’t matter what’s happened in the past. We can put the past behind us if a line is drawn and it’s made clear that certain conduct will not be accepted anymore. That would be a game-changer.

It wouldn’t just be an announcement. It would be part of a real policy. And that policy has a name: strict liability.

For a very long time, I was venomously opposed to strict liability in Scottish football. But we need it. There is no longer any question that we need it.

There are things happening in our grounds that should not be happening. And we must tackle that broad set of problems. But there is an explicit problem at Ibrox and with its support. Strict liability would solve that problem at a stroke.

My past opposition to strict liability was based on the fear that it would be twisted and weaponised against us. I don’t believe that anymore. In fact, I believe it would help us deal with the handful of issues we have in our own stands. It would let us address the minority who refuse to toe the line. And I think our club should welcome it.

The truth is, the fears I had were mostly in my own head. We’ve nothing to fear from strict liability. Our fans are well-behaved.

Aside from the odd clown with a firework, we don’t cross the line like the fans of other clubs do. We could eliminate bigoted singing from the stands. We could rid ourselves of the bottle throwers and the hateful banners instantly—if the game showed a shred of determination to do so.

I understand why Celtic doesn’t want strict liability. But I think that’s a short-sighted view. I think it sells us short as a club. I think it leaves too many of our supporters exposed to a kind of abuse that wouldn’t be tolerated in any other walk of life, in any other time or place. That’s not good enough. Our fears shouldn’t stand in the way of genuine progress.

Surely the time has come. Why hasn’t it?

Are we really going to wait until one of our players gets struck by something—or worse? Even if we’re prepared to wait for that, how much longer are we willing to wade through the shit that flows from those stands? How much longer do we tolerate this garbage? Ask the other clubs how they feel about strict liability—how many of them do you think would vote it through in a second?

Strict liability is a weapon the clubs can use.

If the Ibrox club really is sick and tired of the toxic element in its support, what better stick to wield than this? If our club really wants to crack down on pyro and all the associated nonsense, what better tool to help get it done? What better threat to hold over the heads of the recalcitrant few who refuse to listen?

We all know that there’s a segment of every support who take advantage of anonymity in a crowd. They misbehave during games because they know they’ll be protected by that crowd. Strict liability strips that protection away. It makes the club and the support accountable. And when that happens, fans stop tolerating the misbehaviour of others. This policy would help clubs—not hinder them.

If you’re tired of the bigoted bile pouring out of the stands at Ibrox—and elsewhere—directed at our club and our fans, then why wouldn’t you support this? If you’re sick of flares, smoke bombs, and those who bring them in with utter contempt for everyone around them, the law, and even basic safety, then what reason is there not to back this?

The time for strict liability in Scottish football has surely now arrived. The governing bodies might not like it—too damn bad. They may not want to govern—but that’s just tough. They must be made to govern. Because whether they like it or not, they’re going to have to do something about this eventually. Football must start policing itself.

Because if it doesn’t, someone else will do it for them. Swinney might have passed the buck today, but the sense is growing that football is on its last legs when it comes to this issue. If the game doesn’t clean itself up, the parliamentarians and politicians will step in. And they should step in.

It’s time for real action. That action has to come from somewhere. Someone has to show leadership. It’s time the hatemongers were driven out of the game—once and for all. And strict liability is the only way that job gets done.