Rival fans team up in bid to stop bill

CAMPAIGNERS against a proposed tough new law to stamp out football sectarianism vowed to step up their protest yesterday as they distributed thousands of leaflets at the Rangers versus Hibs game.

Take a Liberty (Scotland) also plans to target Celtic Park and other football grounds, and demonstrate outside the Scottish Parliament when the Offensive Behaviour at Football and Threatening Communications bill is debated.

Their campaign intensified amid growing signs that opposition politicians at Holyrood believe the SNP’s proposals are becoming increasingly confused and could criminalise ordinary fans.

Take a Liberty has the backing of former Celtic director and ex-Lord Provost of Glasgow, Michael Kelly, who said the bill is a “runaway train”.

The bill would see those convicted face up to five years in jail for bigoted behaviour, such as singing or chanting that could incite trouble, at matches or online.

First Minister Alex Salmond told MSPs last week that football in Scotland would be finished if sectarianism was not tackled and appealed to opposition parties to unite behind the proposals.

Kelly said: “It is ironic that our much maligned football fans are the first to stand up to defend freedom of speech and oppose this ridiculous, undemocratic and unenforceable piece of redundant legislation.

“The ordinary fan has clearly a much firmer grasp of what human rights mean in Scotland than a First Minister jumping on a bandwagon which has quickly become a runaway train.”

Take a Liberty spokesman Stuart Waiton, a sociology lecturer at Abertay University in Dundee, said fans from a variety of clubs, including Airdrie and Celtic, helped hand out 5,000 leaflets at Ibrox yesterday, demanding “free speech in football” and “an end to the police harassment of fans who are deemed to be singing ‘offensive’ songs”.

He said the move was aimed at boosting a petition against the bill, which has attracted nearly 3,000 signatures. The group has also produced T-shirts with the slogan, after Voltaire: “I may hate what you say but will defend to the death your right to say it.”

Waiton said: “People may not like some of these songs, but seriously, a possible prison term for singing a ‘naughty’ song. If it wasn’t so serious for the individuals involved you’d have to laugh.”

Waiton, who is a Sunderland fan, added that last week’s arrests of 11 Hibs fans for disorder at a pre-season friendly against his team last month was “just the latest of this form of politicised policing”.

Last week, Conservative leader Annabel Goldie suggested offences at matches were already covered by existing legislation.

Labour leader Iain Gray yesterday warned Salmond the SNP could lose cross-party support for the bill unless they listen to the concerns. Gray said Labour would seek urgent meetings with supporters’ organisations to discuss their concerns. “We’re not simply going to agree with this bill just because Alex Salmond says we should,” he said.

Scottish Labour leadership contender and Glasgow South MP Tom Harris, who helped distribute the leaflets yesterday, said: “Bad legislation is a lot worse than none. This will just antagonise and demonise football fans.”

A Scottish Government spokesman said: “Law abiding football fans – who are the overwhelming majority – have absolutely nothing to worry about from the proposed legislation.”

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