Newmovesfortougher laws on football bigotry
EFFORTS to introduce Europeanstyle ‘Strict Liability’ sanctions to tackle offensive behaviour at football games will be stepped up today as campaigners meet MSPS at Holyrood.
Leading anti-sectarian charity Nil by Mouth will visit the Scottish Parliament this afternoon to brief MSPs on how the system would work in Scotland.
The charity was founded by former Evening Times Scotswoman of The Year Cara Henderson following the death of her friend Mark Scott, the teenager killed in a sectarian attack on a Glasgow street 20 years ago
Organisers are planning to call on all parties to support efforts from James Dornan MSP which would see ‘Strict Liability’ at games passed into law.
The law is the UEFA standard for tackling offensive behaviour at games, with sanctions including fines, closure of parts of grounds, playing matches behind closed doors and docking of league points.
A number of Scottish clubs have been sanctioned under the scheme in European matches in recent years, and the law has been adopted by clubs i n England but not i n Scotland.
The Holyrood event also kicks off Nil by Mouth’s Kiss Bigotry Goodbye tour of clubs schools and communities aimed at encouraging action against sectarianism in the Scottish game.
Nil by Mouth Campaign Director Dave Scott said: ‘We’ve been campaigning for UEFA’s ‘strict liability’ principles to be introduced into Scottish football since 2013 when the clubs tried to brush the idea under the carpet at an SFA AGM.
“Since then we have witnessed numerous instances of violent, sectarian and racist behaviour at matches and the Scottish Government’s own Advisory Group publish recommendations calling for the game to sign up to Strict Liability.
“Added to the tens of millions of pounds of public money Scottish football benefits from each year this is clearly too important an issue to be left to clubs and governing bodies with neither the backbone or appetite to act.”
James Dornan MSP said: ‘The vast majority of supporters only want to go to the games to see the match and not have to listen to some of the nonsense they often have to put up with.
“I look forward to working with supporters of all clubs to ensure that any legislation that may eventually come about will be of the highest standard.”