Female football fans challenge sectarian law

● But SFA boss says repeal decision should be based on hate crime review

Female football supporters have challenged a women’s organisation over its stance on a law to tackle sectarianism and online abuse.

Campaigners have urged the Scottish Women’s Convention (SWC) to withdraw its submission to a Holyrood committee considering whether the legislation should be repealed.

The challenge came as Stewart Regan, chief executive of the Scottish Football Association, said any decision on repeal should be based on careful assessment of the conclusions of a hate crime review being carried out by Judge Lord Bracadale.

The SWC opposes a bid by Labour’s James Kelly to repeal the controversial Offensive Behaviour at Football and Threatening Communications Act.

In its submission the convention said “sectarian abuse

0 Stewart Regan and Debbie Figures, inset, give evidence before the justice committee yesterday that can be spouted specifically at women prior to and after football games is extremely discriminatory and should be viewed as reprehensible”.

It continued: “Women have reported being groped, physically assaulted or even threatened with rape all because they support a particular team.

“This is unacceptable violence against women.”

Giving evidence to Holyrood’s justice committee, the convention’s development assistant, Debbie Figures, said the legislation offered extra protection to women.

But she acknowledged that as the result of a campaign over the weekend, the organisation had received 40 emails from women “asking us to take back our evidence to this session”.

The evidence for the convention’s submission had previously been questioned by Jeanette Findlay, from the campaign group Fans Against Criminalisation, which vehemently opposes the Act. The committee also heard from Mr Regan and Neil Doncaster, chief executive of the Scottish Professional Football League.

SNP MSP Fulton Mcgregor said evidence from the SWC and others suggested the legislationwasmakingsomepeople feel safer when attending football matches. He asked if its repeal could make the game less accessible to some groups.

Mr Regan said “perception is not reality”, arguing that Lord Bracadale’s hate crime review could consider these sorts of issues alongside any potential gaps in the law left by repealing the act.

“I believe that perhaps the way to deal with that is to let the hate crime review play out, let’s see what comes of that, and then decide whether or not the act can be repealed,” he added.

Both Mr Regan and Mr Doncaster raised concerns over fans’ views of the legislation.

“I think there is no doubt that as a result of the Act some fans groups feel demonised,” Mr Doncaster said.