Seven Hearts fans are arrested over sectarian chants

The supporters were arrested by British Transport Police officers at Waverley Station, when they returned following the 0-0 draw with Inverness Caledonian Thistle on Saturday.

Uniformed officers were on the 6.31pm First ScotRail train, and it is understood they received complaints from rail staff during the journey.

When the service arrived at Haymarket, one witness said the fans - aged from 24 to 47 - were not allowed off the train, and had to stay on until Waverley.

Police had already called ahead for more officers to be waiting at the city's main railway station, and the seven men were then all arrested and charged with sectarian breach of the peace.

The fans are due to appear at Edinburgh Sheriff Court on December 21, where they could face a ban from football matches for up to ten years.

It is understood that would make them the first Edinburgh supporters to be punished under new powers to fight football-related violence and crime.

A spokesman for the British Transport Police said there will be discussions with the Procurator Fiscal before a decision is made on whether to push for banning orders.

The seven men arrested are aged 24, 30, 33, 37, 41, 44 and 47. It is thought the sectarian chanting on the train was not directed at any other travellers.

Although the alleged offence took place en route from Inverness, it is normal for police to make the arrest at the final destination.

The news comes as the leader of Scotland's Catholics, Cardinal Keith O'Brien, warned of "blatant anti-Catholicism" north of the border.

"Catholics in Scotland are still many times more likely to be subject to a sectarian attack than any other group," he said.

"I am forced to question the wisdom of numerous high-profile initiatives focusing on football clubs or the constant marginalisation of sectarianism in Scotland as little more than drink-fuelled, post-match rivalry. It is, sadly, deeper, wider and altogether more pervasive than that.

"It is not, poverty, alcohol or football which underpins most cases of religiously aggravated crime in Scotland, but blatant anti-Catholicism."

A law was recently introduced that allows Scottish police forces to apply to have anyone convicted for a football-related offence banned from grounds for up to a decade.

Offences that might result in an order include sectarian chanting, assault or shouting racist remarks. Courts can grant the orders upon conviction. At the end of October, 18 such cases were being sought either by British Transport Police or Strathclyde Police.

• In a separate incident, police are monitoring CCTV footage after a fight broke out on a train following Sunday's match between Hibs and Celtic.

It is understood the incident involved groups of Celtic supporters, on the 6.30pm train from Waverley to Glasgow Queen Street. No arrests were made, but British Transport Police have seized video footage, which will now be examined.