Scottish Catholic Observer

The SNP used its majority at Holyrood to pass The Offensive Behaviour at Football and Threatening Communications Bill last Wednesday, despite the objections of all the opposition parties.

Under the new law two new offences will be created targeting sectarian behaviour in and around football matches and on the internet. Those convicted under the new law could spend as long as five years in jail.

Work to be done

Peter Kearney, the director of the Scottish Catholic Media Office, said that he hoped the bill’s passage would not mean less focus on the problem of sectarianism in Scotland.

“We would hope for further initiatives, to help tackle the fundamental problem, which is anti-Catholicism,” he said. “I also hope that the passage of this legislation doesn’t mean that we see people charged with a blanket charge of ‘offensive behaviour.’ Hopefully the present charge of offensive behaviour will continue to be used as that gives us the only evidence we have of the exact nature of the sectarian problem. That data is very useful.”

Government aims

During the last debate on the bill at the Scottish parliament, Community Safety Minister Roseanna Cunningham said that the bill was designed to help the 91 per cent of ‘decent, law-abiding’ Scots who had had enough of sectarian behaviour.

“This simple point seems to have been lost in what I think is a fog of denial and sometimes apparently wilful misunderstanding,” she said. “These are clear and specific improvements to the existing law.”

Opposition

After the bill was passed, Labour, Conservatives, Liberal Democrats, Greens and Independent MSP Margo MacDonald issued a joint statement condemning the SNP’s actions.

“Members of all political parties are determined to wipe the blight of sectarianism from Scottish society. It is of real regret that the first piece of legislation passed by this new parliament has been railroaded through by the SNP,” it said. “The SNP has used its majority to force through bad law that risks doing more harm than good. It sets a worrying precedent for this parliament.”

The only amendment to the legislation accepted by the SNP came from Patrick Harvie of the Green Party pledging the government to consult with other parties as part of the review of how the new legislation would work in practice.

James Kelly MSP, Labour justice spokesman, was particularly critical of Roseanna Cunningham’s handling of the legislation. “We all know that throughout this process, it has not been competently handled by the minister,” he said. “What we need is a properly thought-out strategy on sectarianism, one that is informed by real people, not civil servants in St Andrew’s House.”

Protest

There was controversy before the vote n the bill when football fans wearing T-shirt slogans were denied entry to the Holyrood debate. Fans Against Criminalisation, a coalition of five Celtic supporters’ groups, had been invited to the Scottish Parliament to air their concerns about the bill.

Twenty-six fans held around-table discussion with MSPs and then made their way to the debating chamber to watch the final public debate on the bill but they were denied entry.

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