THE ALTERNATIVE

THE Offensive Behaviour at Football Act has proved highly controversial.

Its supporters see it as a muchneeded weapon in the battle to banish bigotry from the stands while its opponents see it as poorly crafted legislation which compromises freedom of speech.

Yesterday, Holyrood began the process of its repeal and the question being asked is: “What next?”

Because just as passing the Act didn’t make the problem go away, nor will repealing it see sectarianism disappear into the ether. Firstly, it’s critical that fans don’t view repeal as a green light to indulge in sectarian or racist behaviour at games – they can still be prosecuted under other laws for this.

Secondly, Scottish football must be made to face up to the problem it has spent decades running away from. We still see large groups spouting hatred at matches.

If we are serious about tackling this problem, we need politicians from all parties to force the SFA and SPFL to introduce Uefa’s “Strict Liability” guidelines that see clubs held directly responsible for their repeated failure to tackle this type of bigotry and face financial and sporting sanctions if they fail to get tough on the problem.

Finally, prevention is better – and cheaper – than cure. We need to ensure the grassroots work of groups like Nil by Mouth, Sense Over Sectarianism and Supporters Direct can continue to be funded beyond March, allowing them to challenge attitudes, build bridges and use education as our most powerful weapon to win hearts and minds.