Shame of 78? Real disgrace is missing out

ALLY MacLEOD may have been lampooned. The team disgraced.

Sent away from Scotland as heroes only to return in shame.

But, watching this week’s documentary about the 1978 World Cup, it just drove home the anguish and anger about the fact we are missing out on yet another major finals. It’s an utter disgrace. For a proud footballing nation like ours to have spent two decades in the international wilderness is an absolute scandal.

There are 21-year-olds who have no idea what those fans felt like back in 1978. The euphoria, excitement and hope, followed by the misery, disappointment and despair as Scotland came home in turmoil.

There were 30,000 people inside Hampden to wave the team off.

That’s more than the current squad got for the last home game against Costa Rica.

The streets and Prestwick Airport were awash with punters who then followed the team to South America by any means possible.

As Russia 2018 approaches the most exciting part is watching other countries slug it out on TV in the pub.

The fact the tournament is going to Russia is a victory for greed over decency.

England’s Danny Rose has told his family they shouldn’t travel to see him in the biggest showpiece on earth.

This should be the pinnacle of a career. The proudest moment for a parent. Yet the fear of racist abuse has caused Rose to take these drastic measures. It’s an atrocious state of affairs.

Racist and anti-gay chants are a big problem in Russian football, despite claims the number of incidents are going down.

It’s as if we should be celebrating there were only 19 incidents of abusive chants being recorded. NINETEEN. Discriminatory banner numbers were down from 75 to 52. Well, that’s just wonderful, isn’t it?

Going down isn’t enough. Until it is stamped out the World Cup should be nowhere near the place.

Victims have included players from the French national team, Liverpool youth player Bobby Adekanye and even Russian keeper Guilherme Marinato who was born in Brazil.

There were also worrying reports of a local governor telling the press the team his lot fund in the city of Vladivostok would not sign any black players.

Russian football hooliganism is also notorious. Nutters ran riot at the last Euros with 150 of them going berserk in Marseille.

One England fan had his Achilles tendons

The fact we almost accept not qualifying now makes it even worse

sliced. Two Englishmen were also left in a coma, one of whom was left partially paralysed.

That fans from all over the world are now being invited on to their patch is appalling.

Not that anyone at FIFA will care. You can’t get attacked when you are in a chauffeur-driven limo or sitting in a hotel’s penthouse suite.

Had we qualified, some Scotland fans might have decided to stay at home.

But that’s not the point. It’s a shambles we’re not there. The fact we almost accept it now is even worse.

And the people who have been involved in this 20-year disaster should be ashamed.