Scottish football: How damaging has this season been and where can we go from here?

Published on Sunday 15 May 2011 18:49

Three commentators have their say. . .

Lesley Riddoch: 'Leaders now need to show leadership'

THE football season is finally over, and with it a catalogue of shame. "Fan" behaviour has ranged from the unpleasant and antisocial to the violent and downright criminal, and knocked Scotland's ground-breaking election result from front pages across the world.

Alex Salmond has seen ice-cold water poured on the notion that Scotland is a modern nation, ready to transcend old divisions and handle its own affairs. Scotswomen have heard football commentators mock Women's Aid for claiming Old Firm matches encourage domestic violence. And east coast Scots have discovered sectarian behaviour is not confined to Glasgow. What a swell couple of months it has been.

No-one has a solution except the usual tough talking and hand wringing. And yet a well-constructed campaign to weed out sectarianism could be the making of Scotland. We know anti-Catholic outbursts have nothing to do with Scotland and nothing to with religion, football, history or modern political reality in Ireland.

Researchers have found fans on both "sides" of the sectarian divide can chant "Fenian" and "hun" all match long, and yet reject suggestions of sectarianism because they know there is absolutely no religious component to their behaviour. The problem fan is simply demonstrating membership of a particular Scottish clan. There may be songs, chants, colours, flags and symbolism. But these distinctions are meaningless. The real reason for the screaming, violence and hatred which damage relationships across Scotland every week is "us versus them" - the most enduring and mindless division of the lot.

It can be tackled. I was in Belfast when Northern Ireland beat England 1-0 in 2005 - ending 78 years of defeat. Expecting post-match trouble, the authorities cancelled buses, forcing everyone to walk back to the city centre. The mood was happy, inclusive and euphoric - the product of smart thinking by the Northern Ireland FA who had given fans their own permanent Kop in Windsor Park in return for some witty, non-sectarian singing.

I am sick of weary talk about education. The non-football-supporting majority in Scotland demand action - otherwise we can conclude the authorities in this country like the "beautiful game" just as it is.

Archie Macpherson: 'Isolated horrors spoil a good season'

THERE'S no question that it was abysmal that Neil Lennon was subjected to death threats. It should go without saying that those incidents were execrable and should be condemned.

However, leaving that aside, if those incidents had not happened then I wonder if we might have gone over the top in reacting to what has happened this season? The incident between Ally McCoist and Lennon on the touchline was replayed over and over again on the 24 hour news cycle, and the number of players booked and sent off during that game seemed much worse than it actually was.

I'm not seeking to diminish the importance of the event, but that and the incident of the spectator running on to the park and attacking Lennon were isolated. The behaviour of Scottish supporters in general has been very good this season compared with other countries.

Of course, I'll be accused of being an apologist here, but the people talking about another disgrace for Scottish football forget about teams in English football like Arsenal, where there have been rammies involving up to 20 players on the pitch. Leaving aside the loathsome threats to Lennon, I think we should keep things in perspective.

I don't think the sectarian problems have been any more pronounced this year than they have in the past. The bomb threats, of course, have shown in a very high profile way how we need to stand up to bigotry. But in terms of the chanting, I've been hearing the same sorts of things I've always heard.

I personally don't think the season just past will cause any long-standing damage to Scottish football. If the authorities keep calm, and implement measures to stop the obscene singing, it'll all be for the good.

I think we need to have a discussion about our educational system. Separating children from the age of five until they leave school or go to university or college is socially bad. Education is not the only problem, but I think it should be addressed.

But the biggest problem Scottish football has is its poor quality of player, and while I don't want to sound pessimistic, I fear what the new season will bring in that respect.

Margo Macdonald: 'Law and policing are the best hope'

WATCHING Scottish football this season has been like looking at the flame of a candle which has been flickering away for a long time, only for a gust of wind to come from nowhere and set a room alight.

No-one is entirely sure where that wind has come from, but it had a major effect in exposing a band of antisocial behaviour in our society which is tribal, ill- disciplined and utterly negative.

I'm not sure if you can strictly call it "sectarianism", but that's the name we gave it, and it appears to be closer to the surface of our society than most people realised.

I certainly thought that with the Troubles in Ireland over the past 40 years, people in Scotland who were sectarian in their outlook went to the abyss, looked over, and said: "Oh, that's what happens if you let that get out of control."

I think the proportion of Rangers and Celtic fans who are sectarian has diminished over the years, but I genuinely thought the kind of sectarianism where one Christian church is pitted against another was gone - or very nearly gone.

I have been very surprised at what has happened this season, but now we have to work out how to eradicate it.

We must not ignore what has happened over the past year, because it has caused a lot of heartache, and it has given Scottish football the sort of image it doesn't want to have. Regardless of what anyone thinks of Neil Lennon as a personality or a manager, the way in which he has been abused and pursued is totally unacceptable.

I would hope that what has happened has not had a negative impact on Scotland's image around the world.

A multi-agency approach is required, and it's difficult for the clubs who aren't cash-rich to look at the policing levels. Maybe their stewards could be trained to become similar to special constables.

It will take time and the onwards march of society. Fewer people are going to church, and fewer people identify themselves with one church as opposed to another, so, over time, I think it will change.

I think we have a drastic measure in being able to charge people with religiously aggravated offences. It's the application of the law and the work of the police which matters.