SFSA BLUE PLAQUES LAUNCH FIND OUT MORE
Date: 3rd April 2026
Law and Disorder
By Donald C Stewart
As the weeks go by, for anybody who is neither blue nor green having to witness a pitch invasion is sanguine. Over the last few decades Scottish football is still blighted by the ideals of sectarianism on a far too regular basis. It is a moot point to decide which side is worse than the other. The fact of the matter is that when they are together, they seem to behave as badly as each other.
The problem is mad slightly worse, by the way they are policed. This includes not arresting everybody on the day in which the riot happens but instead we suffer a drip feed into the media of an arrest here and another there and oftentimes also a release of mugshots that ask the public to dob in their pals.
Supporters of other groups, including the ultra-phenomenon in places like Partick Thistle or Hibernian, may wonder if they have slipped down the pseudo manosphere of who’s the best ultra and who’s the toughest on the terraces, but once again we are listening to the next arrest: more media attention on bad behaviour.
Of course, we all accept that this is a minority. The vast majority of fans of Celtic and Rangers just simply want to go and watch a football match. However, there is an underlying current of victimology, whether it be in answer to them being maltreated by authorities, the police or the Scottish Football Association, or currently even their own board. We all know these malcontents represent an underlying feeling within Scottish football that supporters generally don’t get listened to. And so rather than support the activities of people who are going to rush onto a pitch, throw missiles and taunt and challenge their opposition, what we should be doing is trying to get underneath this and see if there is something that Scottish football authorities can do about it. And that is where I think we consistently have a problem.
We spend most of our time trying to work out what it is that has gone wrong with the football, but then when something arrives in football, which is led by society, we blame society. Therefore, football gets off the hook.
It shouldn’t.
There are elements of commercialism, which benefits from sectarianism, making a lot of people money. The sale of items which glorify the division within our society rather than tries to heal it is awful – an Orange Top anyone?
Football authorities could look at licensing. I have often been critical of the Scottish Football Association due to the way in which licenses are handed out based upon administrative functions rather than other wider considerations such as the infrastructure in footballing terms or the potential for a community-based organisation or alternatively just a football academy that seems to be producing some decent players.
There is a way in which footballing authorities could apply some pressure round about the licensing of the clubs. Both Rangers and Celtic have a decent record in putting money into charitable foundations which work in their community. It should be galling to people who run these foundations that when they step out and they see giant TIFOs that often have humorous (to some) slants or sinister messages that their work can be undine by that image broadcast throughout the whole of Sky Sports.
I believe on strict liability and that the management reserve the right to refuse admission. Put them together and if you take their money, you accept their harm.
The number of police that were there in Ibrox along with Stewards who managed to keep the two apart was something I hadn’t noticed for a long while. Given the fact that there was a normal allocation of tickets to Celtic fans that seemed to be utterly appropriate and apposite. If that is to continue, having opposition fans in, when either of the Old Firm hosts, we should be looking at how we deal with the problem in a mature manner, not simply condemning the idiots in the minority who are spoiling it for the majority.
We need to delve deeper to have an honest conversation rather than the usual, light touch, shake our heads, turn away and suggest it’s a problem, but it’s not our problem.
It’s all our problems. Or it could be.
Unless of course, you had a regulator at the top of football who would then take it on and make it their problem.
Oh, by the way, our manifesto’s out. If you fancy getting behind it, don’t hesitate.
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Tags: oor Donald, Scottish fans, Ultras