AS a football fan myself, I do not share Mr MacDonald’s view (Education is the way to stop bigotry not useless legislation, The National, March 15) regarding the repeal of the Offensive Behaviour at Football Act (OBFA). I believe the Act has sent out a strong signal that this country is indeed serious about tackling the issue.
Rather than repeal the Act, it should have been beefed up to an extent that the police would have confidence in apprehending the perpetrators of sectarianism and racism at football matches and obtaining convictions.
I have been at many games where the police have stood idly by whilst fans have put themselves at risk by asking other supporters to refrain from such behaviour.
READ MORE: Letters: Let’s be sure of the facts before heating up Cold War
Those engaging in this type of sectarianism are not “harmless people” and, quite frankly, they deserve to be “dragged through the courts” because they spread their bile at football matches in particular.
Yes, I agree that education is the long-term answer, but, unfortunately, none of the major Scottish clubs are doing anything near enough to put an end to this type of intolerance and hate.
I have written to my own club on several occasions in this regard but have never had the feeling that they are keen to start educational initiatives with supporter involvement before games or to seriously tackle the issue with robust measures to ban or suspend supporters from attending games.
I have also asked my club to consider setting up a Supporters Working Group to consider new ways to tackle the problem but to no avail.
We often know which supporters are engaged in anti-social behaviour, race hate and sectarianism as they sit in the same seats every week or travel to away games.
Unless the clubs are willing to take part in strong anti-sectarian and racism programmes to educate and, where necessary, coerce supporters, then political interference in the process becomes an absolute must.
The OBFA is a very popular act as demonstrated by a number of polls which are obtainable through Wings over Scotland and, whilst I hope I am wrong, abolishing it now is complete folly. This seems to be more about political point-scoring than tackling the real problem.
Dave MacIntyre
Edinburgh
LIMITED letters page space precludes discussing fully the myriad red herrings peppering Scott McDonald’s letter supporting the repeal of the Offensive Behaviour at Football and Threatening Communications (Scotland) Act.
However, the assertion that “academics” and lawyers have criticised the Act implying, therefore, it must be rubbish, doesn’t resonate with me, as many from those groups are among the most hostile to independence.
Must I fall in line with them on that opinion also?
Regarding the description of the Act as “illiberal”, and assuming the opposite of that adjective is “liberal”, which on social matters I believe I am, I have no intention of ever beaming on benignly as numbskulls howl sectarian abuse at each other in public.
Regarding Mr McDonald’s defining the Act as “ineffective” I would refer to Neil Lennon who, although admittedly not an “academic” or lawyer has, I would suggest, some knowledge of hate and sectarianism and recently expressed his opinion that things have improved in recent years.
Finally, regarding Scott’s conjecture that we could have Labour formulating future anti-sectarian law, I can only assume that, given Labour’s history on the subject in the last 100 years, he is, as they say, having a laugh.
Malcolm Cordell
Broughty Ferry
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