Offensive Behaviour at Football Act cave in.

[Ad Lib]

Without wanting to regurgitate, it is quite funny seeing people on this thread stating that offensive behaviour should be tolerated whilst showing no tolerance of people's religious views.

I say get to f**k you hypocritical c***s.

Absolutely no one here would criminalise religious belief.

[Gordon EF]

I go to football and have a beer and laugh and this bill doesnt affect me because i dont act like a total knobhead

If you act like a knobhead you deserve to get punished,its actually quite funny that folk believe there was no arrests at football before this bill

Look at the seethe of some when the boy that ran onto the pitch at the hibs/hearts game,he didnt go to jail because of the bill he went to jail because of his past criminal behaviour

 

Do we really believe behaviour in a football ground should be treated any differently to behaviour outside a football ground? I can't see any reason for that. 

 

If we're also going to criminalise 'acting like a knobhead' pretty much every single person in the country will have been convicted at one time or another.

[DeeTillEhDeh]

 

It only affects people who want to sing bigoted songs.

Its a good law that was badly needed, as ever the SNP are the first ones to ever attempt to actually try to make Scotland a better place and deal with our problems.

As ever, the unionist parties are perfectly happy to damage Scottish society and roll back laws that are good for Scotland in order to damage the SNP.

The constitution really needs resolving we are in an absurd position of having the main opposition parties working against the interests of our entire country, the NPS is the same, the unionist parties will be perfectly happy to endanger the lives of Scottish children just to hurt the SNP. Disgraceful.

It's not a good law though. It completely unworkable. The Dangerous Dogs Act for football fans.

[HaikuHibee]

If we're also going to criminalise 'acting like a knobhead' pretty much every single person in the country will have been convicted at one time or another.

 

Oh please do f**k off. That's not what's criminalised. What utter bollocks.

[Ad Lib]

Oh please do f**k off. That's not what's criminalised. What utter bollocks.

Literally was. Read doulikefish's post again. Hibs though... such minter.

[strichener]

Absolutely no one here would criminalise religious belief.

You will of course be able to show where I stated otherwise. I also cannot remember the P & B election where you were voted the voice of everyone here.

[HomelandsOur]

The aim of the act is to criminalise and silence the expressions of a subsection of the working class whom offend Scottish middle class sensibilities. If i a middle class educated republican attended a royal event and made disparaging comments about the queen this would be seen as legitimate political protest. If a working class Celtic supporter with sympathy towards Irish republicanism made similar comments towards the monarchy at a match or online then he'd be arrested. The same applies to the others side.

I'll get my violin out.

There's a difference between supporting a political viewpoint (republicanism) and supporting terrorism and religious wars/hatred.

[Yank Mike]

Without the hatred as a backdrop, football is just a marginally entertaining children's game.

[williemillersmoustache]

The aim of the act is to criminalise and silence the expressions of a subsection of the working class whom offend Scottish middle class sensibilities. If i a middle class educated republican attended a royal event and made disparaging comments about the queen this would be seen as legitimate political protest. If a working class Celtic supporter with sympathy towards Irish republicanism made similar comments towards the monarchy at a match or online then he'd be arrested. The same applies to the others side.

Good. Keep that shite away from my football.

[Ad Lib]

You will of course be able to show where I stated otherwise. I also cannot remember the P & B election where you were voted the voice of everyone here.

You claimed that people were being hypocritical on freedom of speech grounds because their stance on religious views punished free speech while their stance on sectarian singing didn't.

This is total bollocks because no one argued against free speech for religious bigots. Applying any consistent standard this is the case.

Absolutely no one showed "no tolerance" of other people's religious views. For that to be the case they would have to criminalise it.

Edited May 16, 2016 by Ad Lib

[Jambomo]

Rather than repeal the law straight away, I'd prefer the government parties to work with/pressure the SFA to actually grow a pair and start penalising clubs whose supporters act inappropriately at the game.

What we class as inappropriate can be defined by the clubs and SFA so that smaller offences like swearing can be let go/mildly punished and it's the likes of racist abuse/sectarian songs etc which receive heavier punishment (given these are our main concerns in the game).

I would do this regardless of what UEFA (the corrupt b*****ds) think anyway, as said above its been done before and UEFA generally come across like they don't five muck of a f**k anyway. I doubt it'd look good if they complained when we are trying to tackle racism/sectarianism given the kick it out campaign etc.

The law isn't great and should be sorted but just simply repealing it, without a strategy in place for dealing with the problems, shows that it's about trying to be popular rather than with actual concern for the game, it's issues or its fans.

[Granny Danger]

Rather than repeal the law straight away, I'd prefer the government parties to work with/pressure the SFA to actually grow a pair and start penalising clubs whose supporters act inappropriately at the game.

What we class as inappropriate can be defined by the clubs and SFA so that smaller offences like swearing can be let go/mildly punished and it's the likes of racist abuse/sectarian songs etc which receive heavier punishment (given these are our main concerns in the game).

I would do this regardless of what UEFA (the corrupt b*****ds) think anyway, as said above its been done before and UEFA generally come across like they don't five muck of a f**k anyway. I doubt it'd look good if they complained when we are trying to tackle racism/sectarianism given the kick it out campaign etc.

The law isn't great and should be sorted but just simply repealing it, without a strategy in place for dealing with the problems, shows that it's about trying to be popular rather than with actual concern for the game, it's issues or its fans.

Good post.

[John Lambies Doos]

Without the hatred as a backdrop, football is just a marginally entertaining children's game.

Thanks for your contribution

[williemillersmoustache]

Rather than repeal the law straight away, I'd prefer the government parties to work with/pressure the SFA to actually grow a pair and start penalising clubs whose supporters act inappropriately at the game.

What we class as inappropriate can be defined by the clubs and SFA so that smaller offences like swearing can be let go/mildly punished and it's the likes of racist abuse/sectarian songs etc which receive heavier punishment (given these are our main concerns in the game).

I would do this regardless of what UEFA (the corrupt b*****ds) think anyway, as said above its been done before and UEFA generally come across like they don't five muck of a f**k anyway. I doubt it'd look good if they complained when we are trying to tackle racism/sectarianism given the kick it out campaign etc.

The law isn't great and should be sorted but just simply repealing it, without a strategy in place for dealing with the problems, shows that it's about trying to be popular rather than with actual concern for the game, it's issues or its fans.

 

Absolutely this, amend and improve. Repealing is just political opportunism and without anything meaningful in place to replace it, it's just carte blanche for the ugly sisters to continue marketing themselves to the base instincts and principles that seem so popular with their core support. 

[Gordon EF]

Oh please do f**k off. That's not what's criminalised. What utter bollocks.

 

I'm not saying it is. That was in response to the usual 'if you act like a dick you deserve to be arrested' shite that someone's always guaranteed to come away with in these threads.

 

It might have been worth reading the post I was directly replying to.

[ScotSquid]

The problem the religious bigots fail to recognise is that their scumbaggery deserves no special protection because of a sky fairy belief.

This is generally their fallback position when called out on being utter c***s.

'Oh, it's not me that hates the gays. I just have very seriously held religious beliefs...'

[D.A.F.C]

Everyone knows it's Rangers and Celtic that's the problem. For me you should give powers to the ref to stop the game and award three points to the other side.

I've seen rangers at EEP and it was a large majority of fans singing FTP and billy boys. It's not a minority, especially at away games.

Put an agreed panel of observers in the stand and if they can hear it, which everyone else can, then they can tell the ref to call it off.

After two or three games the fans would stop it.

[Jambomo]

Everyone knows it's Rangers and Celtic that's the problem. For me you should give powers to the ref to stop the game and award three points to the other side.

I've seen rangers at EEP and it was a large majority of fans singing FTP and billy boys. It's not a minority, especially at away games.

Put an agreed panel of observers in the stand and if they can hear it, which everyone else can, then they can tell the ref to call it off.

After two or three games the fans would stop it.

 

These would be fine measures if a large part of the problem wasn't the selective vision/hearing of the SFA. They just don't care, even worse - I almost think that they believe it's adding to the tension and atmosphere of the game and have no real desire to consider it an issue. We could put in observers and instruct the ref - do you think they will ever hear/see anything bad happening? Not a chance.

 

The SFA have been presented with enough evidence over the years - video clips, offical complaints etc, to have taken notice and said 'ok, this is an issue and we are going to start punishing clubs whose fans behave in this way'. Why don't they? They are scared because they know that the Old Firm will go mental at the slightest punishment, however justified, and they have the media happy to back them in whatever wrongs they choose to see themselves as victim to. They also, as said, love the Old Firm, they love the derby, they see it as the biggest game, the biggest selling point and I think they consider the sectarian history and singsongs as part of that gamne, part of the 'atmosphere' and don't want to damage it.

 

Whilst the authorities of the game don't want to acknowldege the problem, we have no chance of getting rid of it as they are the only ones who really have the ability to do so.

Edited May 16, 2016 by Jambomo

[D.A.F.C]

These would be fine measures if a large part of the problem wasn't the selective vision/hearing of the SFA. They just don't care, even worse - I almost think that they believe it's adding to the tension and atmosphere of the game and have no real desire to consider it an issue. We could put in observers and instruct the ref - do you think they will ever hear/see anything bad happening? Not a chance.

 

The SFA have been presented with enough evidence over the years - video clips, offical complaints etc, to have taken notice and said 'ok, this is an issue and we are going to start punishing clubs whose fans behave in this way'. Why don't they? They are scared because they know that the Old Firm will go mental at the slightest punishment, however justified, and they have the media happy to back them in whatever wrongs they choose to see themselves as victim to. They also, as said, love the Old Firm, they love the derby, they see it as the biggest game, the biggest selling point and I think they consider the sectarian history and singsongs as part of that gamne, part of the 'atmosphere' and don't want to damage it.

 

Whilst the authorities of the game don't want to acknowldege the problem, we have no chance of getting rid of it as they are the only ones who really have the ability to do so.

Agreed, not the sfa. Make it the police.

[Ad Lib]

I don't understand why people think something else has to replace it.

It's just not the case at all that the Act is the only measure taken to tackle Sectarianism. At the time the opposition parties said they believed a legislative response of this kind was completely inappropriate. They were right. There shouldn't have to be new things coming into place first to justify the repeal of a redundant, ineffective and excessive law.