I went to visit an old friend this afternoon and found him in good fettle. He describes his area as ‘Fire stick central’ due to the ubiquity of those devices which allow those of limited means to watch their team without making rich men like Rupert Murdoch any richer. Who can blame them? As a banner said at a game in Europe, ‘Football- invented by the poor and stolen by the rich.’ He was watching the Ross County v Rangers game, although like me his allegiances lie in Glasgow’s east end. As we chatted, I had a strange feeling I had entered a time warp and been transported back to the 1970s. I glanced at the TV and realised that the songbook of the away fans up in Dingwall was akin to that their grandfathers used back in the dark ages. Scotland has tried to have a conversation in recent times about what is acceptable at a football match and what isn’t. For instance, the SPFL has finally decided to act on the issue of flares at stadiums and Rangers, Motherwell and Celtic are being charged over the irresponsible and unacceptable use of pyrotechnics by their fans. Yet the silence on blatantly racist and sectarian chanting we heard today has been deafening. Being Scotland, anyone who raises this issue faces a tsunami of ‘whataboutery’ which muddies the waters and leads to ‘SFA’ being done. I know the fans of many clubs, including my own, chant things which are distasteful at times, but let’s focus on today. The knee jerk response is usually to say, ‘it’s a minority’ or ‘it’s catholic schools’ or ‘they’re all as bad as each other.’ In reality, I’m sure a lot of Rangers fans are heartily sick of the outdated tripe they hear at matches. Let’s be clear what we are talking about today. The following words were broadcast into the nations living rooms today ‘The only think that I could play was fuck the pope and the IRA.’ ‘To die a Fenian bastard.’ ‘The famine is over why don’t you go home?’ ‘We’re up to our knees in Fenian blood.’ Is that who we are in 2024? Is that what passes without comment in an age where we are castigated by some for using the wrong gender pronouns? As I drove home from ‘Fire-stick central,’ a Radio Scotland pundit was waxing lyrical about a ‘very good game’ (I thought it was dire-but what do I know) and said not one word about the songs we heard. Would that be the case if folk sang about being up to their knees in Jewish or Muslim blood? Hell no! So why is it unworthy of comment when it’s Catholics who are targeted? There was talk at one time of taking clubs to task over such incidents but with no limited liability, the SPFL and SFA are limited in some senses but at the very least they should be vocal about this issue. The Police, on the other hand, have powers to deal with it, but generally look on as if football fans were somehow a different breed and not subject to the law of the land. After they and the Scottish government made a complete arse of ‘The Offensive Behaviour at Football and Threatening Communications, Act 2012) and it was repealed, some supporters felt they were then able to sing what they wanted. Part of the issue in the modern game is the rise of ultra groups at most clubs and their increasingly dominant role in calling the tune during games. They were a major boost to the atmosphere in the modern, rather sterile football grounds of the post Taylor Report era. Rangers’ ultras see as obsessed with posturing about loyalism as their grandfathers were. None of them lived through the troubles and I doubt they have much comprehension of the political situation in modern Ireland. This stuff has a momentum of its own in the point scoring, social media posturing and morally bankrupt tribalism we see from some. So, what is to be done? Clubs would baulk at the idea of losing points over something they have minimal control over. In Spain and Italy, games are stopped when racist chanting is heard and referees have been known to lead the teams from the field. That, if done often enough, would be embarrassing for any clubs involved. We can’t arrest our way out of it and educational programmes by clubs often miss the very people who need to hear them. It seems an intractable problem and I’ve yet to hear any realistic solution put forward by the footballing authorities, clubs of politicians. You can’t arrest your way out of this issue but perhaps letting those who call the tune know that if they persist with the backwards songs, which serve only to drag their club’s name through the dirt and advertise their own prejudice, they won’t be getting any tickets for away games. I doubt the club will have the cojones to do that. Next week, Rangers will play Celtic in the league cup final. I get the impression I’ll be caught in the time warp again and those who run our game will sit back mutely as it is tarnished again. Some courage and leadership are urgently required, but I won’t hold my breath waiting for it.
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