Bartley calls for strict liability vote
LIVINGSTON midfielder Marvin Bartley has called for Scottish football to introduce strict liability in a bid to combat racist behaviour from supporters.
The 33-year-old has been the target of two major incidents since moving north of the border in 2015 to join Hibs – following a 3-1 Scottish Cup win over Hearts in 2017 when he was targeted by a rival fan with a racist tweet. Another Hearts supporters walked free from court last year after the charge against him for allegedly shouting racist remarks was found not proven.
Amidst the current Black Lives Matter movement, Bartley believes Scottish clubs need to be held accountable for their fans’ behaviour.
He said: “I think in terms of football, the fines are embarrassing for racial incidents.
“When you look around the footballing world, you will probably get fined more for revealing a sponsor on a T-shirt than someone in the crowd shouting racial abuse. That is not us taking it seriously. The fines have to be a lot heavier. There has to be a lot more onus on the clubs to sort this out.
“If a club were to have a racial incident from their supporters, there should be a warning and a fine that goes with it. If you have another one, there should be a points deduction.”
Scottish clubs voted against strict liability in 2013, while a poll by BBC Scotland of all 42 teams in March 2019 found that only three clubs were in favour.
Speaking to Sky Sports, Bartley added: “Let’s have a vote about it and the clubs that say no to it, tell us why.”