Sectarian chants ‘bring fans together’: expert
CONTROVERSIAL legislation to tackle sectarianism at football been branded a “mess” because it fails to acknowledge the “solidarity and fraternity” generated by bigoted chanting from the terraces, a leading academic has said.
Dr Joseph Webster, of Queen’s University Belfast, accused the SNP of failing to understand “the social reality behind the behaviours it seeks to ban”.
It comes amid continuing efforts to repeal the Scottish Government’s controversial Offensive Behaviour at Football Act, which aims to tackle sectarianism.
Dr Webster insisted Old Firm fans took part in sectarian behaviour “primarily for their own benefit, to validate their own tribe”.
Writing today in our sister paper, The Herald, the academic compared rival football fans to “boys facing off in the playground” who are unwilling to throw a real punch.
He said: “My suggestion is simple: the Football Act is such a mess because it completely fails to understand the social reality behind the behaviours it seeks to ban.
“The assumption of those who railroaded the legislation through Parliament without proper scrutiny is that the sectarian misbehaviour surrounding certain football matches is all about rivalry, and a hatred of the other. But this isn’t the full picture.
“An exclusive focus on rivalry and hate completely ignores the equally important sectarian dynamics of solidarity and fraternity.”
Dr Webster, who has attended Orange “social clubs” and shadowed Protestant flute bands as part of his anthropology research, said most sectarianism occurred in the absence of rival supporters or where fans were already strictly segregated.
He added: “This observation is crucial because it shows how engaging in ‘offensive behaviour at football’ is an attempt to create intragroup cohesion rather than inter-group rivalry. In shared spaces, as a result – on the streets or on public transport – such behaviours decrease dramatically.
“Offensive chanting is thus a collective performance engaged in by a group for themselves, as a demonstration of their own collective membership of that group.”
He continued: “Their insults may well be grossly offensive, but that is not their primary purpose. If it were, then why would the strongest ex- pressions of verbal sectarianism be offered in the absence of rival fans, inside supporters clubs, and on their private buses?
“And why would verbal sectarianism decrease so dramatically in shared public spaces like train stations and town centres, regardless of the presence or absence of police?”
Dr Webster’s comments come as Celtic and Rangers prepare to face off at Ibrox tomorrow, with police urging supporters to “behave responsibly”.
He said fans were much more interested in celebrating their own sense of belonging than what “the other tribe is doing”, and argued the Football Act is “unjustified, unworkable, and counterproductive”.
The controversial legislation was passed by the SNP when it had a Holyrood majority in 2011, but efforts to repeal it have since attracted cross-party support.
A Scottish Government spokeswoman said: “Singing songs about terrorism, mocking incidents involving loss of life and being hateful towards some of our most vulnerable communities with no regard for the impact is not acceptable in a modern Scotland.”