[COLOR=#000000:ea3ffcd8]It was announced last week that the Scottish Government had awarded funding to Supporters Direct Scotland.[SIZE=3:ea3ffcd8] I want to make it very clear; they dont speak for us and never will.
[SIZE=3:ea3ffcd8][COLOR=#000000:ea3ffcd8]This is another move by the Scottish Government to get support for their new legislation; well they will get nothing but opposition from the Celtic Support.
[SIZE=3:ea3ffcd8][COLOR=#000000:ea3ffcd8]Supporters Direct Scotland is an amalgamation of supporters trusts from all over Scotland, mostly two-bit nobody clubs; the chairman Mr Harris was a member of the Rangers Trust but fell out with them; so he will be no friend to the Celtic Support.
[SIZE=3:ea3ffcd8][COLOR=#000000:ea3ffcd8]I suspect that the SFA and the SPL might use this same crowd for having dialogue regarding Scottish Football; I will be writing to Stewart Regan and Neil Doncaster to inform them quite clearly that this organisation does not have our support.
[COLOR=#000000:ea3ffcd8]Here is a short statement from SDS.
[COLOR=#000000:ea3ffcd8]Supporters Direct Scotland (SDS) has agreed a £70,000 funding package with the Scottish Government through to March 2012 to help the organisation develop its role as a representative voice for Scottish football fans.
[COLOR=#000000:ea3ffcd8]Welcoming the Grant award, Alan Harris, Chair of Supporters Direct's Scottish Council, said:
[COLOR=#000000:ea3ffcd8]This new funding will allow Supporters Direct Scotland to expand its traditional role of advising and supporting Supporters Trusts to represent the maximum number of supporters, whether or not they are members of supporters' trusts. Supporters Direct Scotland aims to build on its work with supporters trusts to develop a Scottish Football Supporters Network so that SD Scotland becomes the authentic voice of football club fans and allows for an effective and productive dialogue between football fans, Government, football authorities, clubs, communities and other public authorities."
[COLOR=#000000:ea3ffcd8]More important than SDS is the new group which has been set up, Fans Against Criminalisation The first meeting of the new group will meet in our club on London Road tomorrow night; I look forward to attending.
[COLOR=#000000:ea3ffcd8]The new group has been set up to campaign against the proposed new legislation for offensive behaviour at football; you have already seen the first salvo from the Green Brigade; there will be much more to come in the next few weeks.
[COLOR=#000000:ea3ffcd8]Below is the declaration of intent from the new group; The Celtic Supporters Association will play a very active part in this new group; I will keep you updated on progress made.
[COLOR=#000000:ea3ffcd8]A new campaign group, Fans Against Criminalisation, has been formed by Celtic fans to campaign against the first part of the Offensive Behaviour at Football and Threatening Communications Bill.
[COLOR=#000000:ea3ffcd8]Following the so-called Shame Game last March, the police and the Scottish Government called Celtic and Rangers to a summit to discuss a range of societal problems they claimed football was responsible for. Since then, the ills of society have been laid at footballs door and football fans have been blamed for everything from sectarianism to drink-fuelled domestic abuse. The government and a hitherto compliant Scottish media have portrayed the Offensive Behaviour at Football Bill as anti-sectarian legislation.
[COLOR=#000000:ea3ffcd8]The reality is, however, very different from the political rhetoric.
[COLOR=#000000:ea3ffcd8]There is very little criminality at football matches indeed, there has been no serious disorder in a Scottish stadium for over thirty years. The very small number of offences committed inside Scottish football grounds is a symptom of the nations wider problems with alcohol and bigotry, rather than a cause.
[COLOR=#000000:ea3ffcd8]The Offensive Behaviour at Football Bill does not tackle any of the nations problems. As a range of bodies from the Law Society to Nil By Mouth argue, there are existing laws that ably tackle sectarianism and other hate crimes. Instead, the proposed new legislation criminalises football fans for being football fans. The new law applies only to us and leaves football fans all over the country liable for arrest and imprisonment. Justice Minister Roseanna Cunningham suggests fans may be arrested for anything from making the sign of the cross to singing a national anthem. A whole range of acts routinely carried out by fans at football matches could be considered offensive. Any fan arrested under this new legislation will likely be subject to the nightmare of a football banning order and numerous court appearances before their case is even heard. Those convicted can be sentenced to 5 years imprisonment.
[COLOR=#000000:ea3ffcd8]As Celtic fans, we have even more reason to be fearful about the Bill, given Justice Committee Chair Christine Grahams view that the law should be seen as an evening-up process, allowing the criminal law to capture Celtic fans as well as those of our city rivals.
[COLOR=#000000:ea3ffcd8]Rather than any serious policy debate, the Scottish Government has instead engaged in political grandstanding. Football fans have barely been considered or their views consulted as Alex Salmond tries to accelerate the Bill onto the statute books.
[COLOR=#000000:ea3ffcd8]But fans will no longer remain silent on the issue and our voices must be heard. The Green Brigades recent protest at the Inverness match was given huge backing by the Celtic support and has been followed by similarly well-received protests at other grounds. It now also seems that other commentators and members of civil society are starting to see through the Scottish governments rhetoric and realise that the Bill is a poorly crafted piece of legislation that is both unnecessary and undesirable.
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[COLOR=#000000:ea3ffcd8]Fans Against Criminalisation will not allow the ills of Scottish society to be laid at the door of football fans, or football fans to be treated as second-class citizens, subject to a ludicrous law that applies only to us. We will not stand idly by as fan culture and football fans are criminalised. Over the coming weeks and months we will be mounting a campaign against the Offensive Behaviour at Football Bill.
[COLOR=#000000:ea3ffcd8]You can help support the campaign and keep up to date with news and events by following us on twitter (@FACKilltheBill) and on facebook(
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[COLOR=#000000:ea3ffcd8]https://www.facebook.com/pages/Fans-Against-Criminalisation/159607327462384).
[COLOR=#000000:ea3ffcd8]Fans Against Criminalisation
[COLOR=#000000:ea3ffcd8][EMAIL="fansagainstcriminalisation@gmail.com"]fansagainstcriminalisation@gmail.com[/EMAIL:ea3ffcd8]
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