Weed bigotry out of football and it will wilt elsewhere

The febrile atmosphere of a city football derby should never be considered fully representative of wider Scottish society.

Nevertheless, when a high-profile figure such as Hibernian manager Neil Lennon says Scotland has a particular problem with anti- Irish racism it deserves proper examination.

It is unlikely that Lennon will yet know the exact motivation of the coin thrower who aimed a missile at him at Tynecastle Park on Wednesday.

It is a fact – and it should not be an unsayable one – that his conduct on the touchline prior to the incident wasn’t appropriate for a football manager.

The insults he says he has to endure at his place of work – Fenian, pauper, beggar, tarrier – are worse: vile and unacceptable.

The choice of words is particularly ironic given the probability that Lennon has given more to the UK economy in taxes than most of his abusers will earn in a lifetime.

Whatever the scale of the problem in Scotland, it is at its most pronounced in our football culture. The songs emanating from some stadia should be the cause of a giant cringe.

Football is the vehicle for transporting latent outlying sectarianism into the mainstream.

It is possible to draw the impression that those in charge don’t mind too much as long as the turnstiles keep clicking – but that is flawed.

The future supporters of our national game may be more likely to seek leisure pursuits other than sitting in the dark and cold listening to songs about a foreign war in a country whose right- thinking citizens would rather consign it to history.

So is sectarianism Scotland’s problem or does it belong to some elements of Scottish football alone?

Most Scots might struggle to recall the last time they heard a genuinely malicious word being said or a blow being struck because of anti-Irish, anti-Protestant or anti- Catholic sentiment in a completely non-football context.

The prospect of strict liability – where clubs take responsibility for the behaviour of its fans – has once again been raised on the back of last week’s incidents.

It would be a useful tool if it encouraged the decent majority and gave them more reason to make their voices heard above the noise of the extreme fringes.

If bigotry can be effectively weeded out of our grounds, it is unlikely to take root anywhere else in a largely tolerant, increasingly multi-cultural and peaceful society.

Lennon has given more in taxes than most of his abusers will ever earn