A new tune, but the song remains the same

Published on Wednesday 17 September 2008 22:16

THE sectarian chant, that curse of Scottish football, has again reared its ugly head, with controversy surrounding a song heard at last month's Old Firm fixture.

The song, the chorus of which contains the lyrics "The famine's over, why don't you go home?", is understood to be a relatively recent creation, heard sporadically during Rangers' Uefa Cup final appearance in Manchester in May.

It is known that the song started to circulate in certain Rangers supporters' circles to the extent that, before the team's first home match of the season, against Hearts, Rangers was informed by Strathclyde Police that anyone found singing it risked arrest and being charged with a racial breach of the peace.

The club duly passed the message on to supporters' representatives. But that did not deter some supporters from embarking on a high-profile rendition of the number, unofficially known as The Famine Song, at last month's game at Celtic Park.

In an ongoing battle that at times makes the sport seem almost incidental, the chanting, perceived as anti-Irish and anti-Catholic, led Ireland's consul-general to raise concerns with the Scottish Government, following a complaint from a Celtic fan.

The reaction of Rangers officials to the story demonstrated the sensitivity and uncertainty over which chants are deemed offensive and how best to deal with them.

The Govan club's initial response was to issue a statement that made clear the song had brought about a "substantial number of complaints".

"Clearly, The Famine Song has provoked such a response in certain quarters," it added. "It is the club's view that the interest of our supporters and the club will be best served by supporters refraining from singing The Famine Song."

However, the club later posted a revised statement on its official website in which Martin Bain, the chief executive, disclosed that not everyone affiliated with Rangers would regard the song's lyrical content as deserving of condemnation.

"Clearly, some supporters feel aggrieved that a song they believe to be no more than a tit-for-tat 'wind-up' of Celtic supporters should be singled out in this way and merit the attention of police, governments and anti-racism organisations," Mr Bain said. "In recent times, the absence of sanction or attention directed at any other club supports the contention that this is very much a one-way street. This is despite the best efforts of this club to highlight such issues in constructive discussion with the relevant authorities.

"The club shares supporters' frustration that offensive and wholly unacceptable songs, such as those 'celebrating' the Ibrox disaster or inciting death threats to our players, are sung by supporters of other clubs on a regular basis with little or no comment or reprimand from any quarter."

He added: "The club also believes that the issue of unacceptable conduct and antisocial behaviour at football matches has at times been used by individuals or groups to pursue their own agendas."

A spokesman for the Rangers Supporters Trust also condemned the notion that the chant could be construed as sectarian, suggesting that Rangers had been targeted by a "mischievous and politically inspired campaign of vilification".

He said: "The Famine Song chant is a typical football chant mocking the myths rival fans perpetuate about themselves, and should be treated as such."

Not everyone will agree with such sentiments, but Rangers has been working to improve the behaviour of its support since it was fined by Uefa, the governing body of European football, for the conduct of a section of fans who sang The Billy Boys, with its infamous line about being "up to our knees in Fenian blood".

The club now employs its own steward to travel with fans to away games to monitor any such chanting and is resolutely opposed to "sectarian, racist and antisocial behaviour".

The problem is not Rangers' alone. Celtic fans have time and again been found guilty of singing sectarian songs, although the incidents involving Rangers have arguably been higher-profile in recent years. A spokesman for Celtic declined to comment specifically about the Famine Song incident, but said the club had flushed out many sectarian elements from its support. "It is widely regarded that we have made massive strides in this area," he said. "We are fully supportive of the existing Scottish Premier League guidelines."

The problem of how to rid the terraces of sectarian songs has long occupied clubs, supporters' groups and police, but, despite stepped-up efforts, the abuse remains.

The issue seldom encourages compromise, and consensus on what can be classed as sectarian is rare.

Last year, for instance, Karen Gillon, the Labour MSP, admitted singing The Sash, which commemorates King William's victory at the Battle of the Boyne in 1690. Although "conscious that people can be offended by it", Ms Gillon said people "should be allowed to celebrate their heritage and where they come from".

Similarly, the head of a Celtic supporters' trust provoked outrage by defending the singing of pro-IRA songs by fans during matches. Dr Jeanette Findlay, the chairwoman of the Celtic Trust, which represents supporters and small shareholders, claimed chants about the IRA were "songs from a war of independence".

The Scottish Premier League (SPL), the governing body behind Scotland's top tier of competition, has in the past been asked to clarify which songs are deemed abusive, with some fans' organisations claiming such a move would make it easier to know which lyrics are acceptable and which are offensive.

However, the SPL has held off from such a course of action, claiming that drawing up an exclusive "banned list" would not discourage certain sentiments being expressed, given the transient nature of such songs, which are likely to be modified and changed over time.

The SPL has had its fair share of criticism over an approach that some see as inconsistent, but the body insists it has the mechanisms in place to root out unwelcome behaviour.

Last year, the SPL introduced rules on what it calls "unacceptable conduct" in line with existing legislation. It is aware that Rangers has contacted Strathclyde Police about the Famine Song incident and intends to contact the club and the police to consider what, if any, action is required.

At every top-flight game, the SPL has its own independent match delegate, assigned to report any unwanted incidents among supporters. Should such an incident come to pass, the SPL attempts to substantiate it, with an independent panel assigned to review the available evidence.

A variety of sanctions are available, from a simple reprimand to, in the case of repeat offenders, a points deduction.

Greg Mailer, an SPL spokesman, said: "The ultimate goal is not to see clubs punished; it's to see an improvement in behaviour."

Throwing the book at sectarian behaviour

IT IS known as item 7.4. in the Scottish Premier League handbook, a list of behaviour which the SPL believes constitutes "unacceptable conduct", including sectarianism.

The definitions are agreed upon by every club in the top flight of Scottish football, all of which are committed to stamping out such behaviour.

Introduced last summer, the guidelines are designed to tackle a variety of abuse, with strict rules on the subjects of racism, homophobia and a broad range of other behaviour which could be deemed threatening, abusive or insulting.

It is, however, sectarian abuse that is the focus of the drive, made clear in the phrase: "Conduct which stirs up or sustains or is likely or designed to stir up or sustain, hatred or ill-will against or towards a group of persons based on their membership or presumed membership of a group."

An SPL source said that, although sectarianism "can at times be very difficult to define, it is the main problem facing the game".

A key change since the introduction of the guidelines has seen clubs take responsibility for the behaviour of their supporters at away grounds, where the problem is perceived to be at its worst.

Some clubs, such as Rangers and Celtic, now take their own stewards to away games in order to monitor the support.

Indeed, it was Rangers' own stewards who brought to the SPL's attention unwelcome chanting by Rangers fans during the club's opening fixture of the season last year at Inverness Caledonian Thistle's ground.

The SPL warned the club in the wake of the incident, but stopped short of disciplinary procedures. Nonetheless, the organisation possesses a range of powers to take action against any clubs found guilty of allowing such behaviour to take place.

The actions open to the organisation include fines, points deductions, stadium closures and, in the most extreme cases, expulsion of a club from the league.

However, critics have suggested that no matter what action Scottish football takes from within, police and the judiciary need to make more use of Football Banning Orders – legal instruments which ban people from all football grounds. It is understood only a handful of FBOs have been granted since their introduction two years ago.