Repeal is good news for fans
Hamilton fan Sean Mchugh has celebrated the repeal of the Offensive Behaviour at Football Act last Thursday.
The Hamilton Accies’ supporters liaison officer has been an active part of the Fans Against Criminalisation (FAC) movement for three years, and said it was good news that the bill will now be scrapped.
He said:“this has been the culmination of, for some, seven years of hard work.
“I’ve been involved for three years, and repealing this act shows that the people can be heard.
“Not only are football fans losing out on work, football clubs have been losing out on revenue and fans. The lifeblood of the game was being ruined under the act.” The controversial act was passed in 2011 by the thenmajority SNP government and was aimed at cracking down on sectarianism, but all four opposition parties argued that it unfairly targets football fans, and argued for it to be scrapped, saying it didn’t tackle the problem. Ministers voted 62 to 60, meaning the Football Act will be taken off the statute book next month. Part of the problem highlighted by opponents is that they claim the law is badly worded, and is open to interpretation on what is and is not ‘offensive behaviour’. The drive to repeal the bill was spearheaded by Labour MSP James Kelly, who said he was delighted to see the end of what he dubbed “the worst piece of legislation in Scottish Parliament history”.
The Football Act will be taken off the statute book once the repeal bill gets royal assent, which is expected to happen in April.
Fans Against Criminalisation (FAC), of which Sean was a part, campaigned for repeal and called the move a‘historic victory for football fans’.
The law, which came into force in 2012, created two new offences –‘offensive behaviour at regulated football matches’ and‘threatening communication’.
As well as people actually attending matches, the first of these covers people travelling to and from matches, and those watching games on TV in a pub.
The‘threatening communications’section of the law generally covers abuse online and on social media.
A spokesperson for FAC on their Twitter page said:“this is a historic victory for football fans. Thank you to all who have supported us.”