Time we all stopped turning a blind eye

being carted out of Paisley on a St John’s stretcher.

It’s a truly toe-curling catalogue of appalling behaviour and those Celtic supporters who sang about hoping for Brendan Rodgers to be executed by terrorists helped to drag us all down even further into the gutter last week.

But the Buckfast-swigging, bottle-throwing bampot who tried to skull Sinclair? That’s arguably the worst of the lot.

Just imagine the ramifications had the Celtic winger not been so lucky and not just in terms of his own personal health and wellbeing.

Had Sinclair been hit on the head all hell would have broken lose and the game in this country would probably still be at a standstill, navel gazing intensely while waiting for the First Minister to drag the whole grotesque circus back into the house on the hill.

And rightly so because this game of ours would have brought shame and condemnation on an entire nation.

So, yes, football absolutely needs to be sorted out and perhaps even humiliated in public because the next time the next player might not be so fortunate.

Not to be outdone, yesterday’s Scottish Cup quarter-final grudge match at Pittodrie between Aberdeen and Rangers was marred by fans chucking ripped up seats and other missiles at each other. There were several ugly clashes inside and outside the stadium.

Rangers deserve to be commended for taking action in advance of that tie by releasing a statement of their own on Saturday, reminding their supporters to act like decent human beings rather than create havoc in the club’s name with sectarian chants and mindless behaviour.

Although it seemed to be completely ignored, the message from the club was clear and strong and it was also pro-active which is precisely what is required if Scottish football is ever going to get its act in order.

Yes, before kick-off yesterday lunchtime there was a chorus of the Billy Boys being belted out behind Alex McLeish and Chris Sutton as the pair chatted on Premier Sports which goes to prove the very best intentions tend to fall on deaf ears where conduct around football matches is concerned.

But at least they are acknowledging the issues and confronting them. Not looking the other away or leaving it to the official to pick up the evidence.

When Collum handed the bottle over the other day all that was missing from the scene of the crime were officers McGregor and Toshin. Quality Polis is precisely what this epidemic of mindlessness and thuggery requires.

Rather than take the object to the side of the pitch before allowing Sinclair to take the corner, Collum should have stopped play and maybe even sent the players from the field until the boys in blue had gone in and taken their man away by the collar.

A highly-visible, zero-tolerance approach might represent the best chance of forcing football to behave itself before it goes too far. Act now or it’ll be more than just hearts that are being broken in the name of the game.