OBFA - One Blundering Football Act - or is it?

SEVERAL General Elections ago, I was driving home as the polls closed, listening to Radio 4, who put out a programme poking fun at politicians in general and elections in particular. One of the “talking heads” was the late, great, Peter Cook, whose suggestion to the listeners was: “Don't vote, it only encourages them”.

Peter Cook - had the right attitude to politicians

During the 100-years or so of universal suffrage, Scotland has voted, in turn, National Liberal, Scottish Unionist or, for most of that century, Labour, while England has generally voted Conservative. Even when the Labour Party has had its occasional turn in power, in truth, it has done very little for Scotland – we are still, as we have been since the Union of Parliaments in 1707, the poor relations of the United Kingdom.

In 2007, we Scots voted in a minority SNP government in Holyrood. In 2011 we gave them a majority. Earlier this month, we again voted-in the SNP as a minority government. Now, some might argue about this, but, I think it is fair to say, given the constraints placed on their powers by the devolution agreement, and the fact, they have only had four years of majority rule in which to do it – the SNP has been unable to do all that much to sort-out our position as the poor relations. There are still many key issues, particularly around poverty and social deprivation in Scotland to be addressed.

So, with, so-much to be sorted out, you might have thought the Tories, Scottish Labour, Scottish Liberal-Democrats and Green who are in the majority, but out of power in Holyrood might have found a pressing issue to combine over and to, to use the currently popular political phrase: “Hold the SNP's feet to the fire over”.

Ruthie holding Nicola's feet to the fire

What about the fact so many Scots are having to use food banks? No cannot use that, the Tories' Westminster policies on austerity might be a factor there.

What about the well-known inefficiencies in Scottish local authorities? No, too-many of them are Labour-controlled.

Well, what can we get the SNP on? How about the Offensive Behaviour at Football Act? Great, aye, let's go for it. So, it began, the first great test of the new SNP government, the burning issue of the day in Scotland is to be OFBA.

Jings, crivvens, help ma Boab. Ah kent politicians were daft, but, Ah didnae think they were that daft. NO, strike that remark, one of the main supporters for repeal of OBFA is SLAB mouthpiece James Kelly.

Let me say immediately – I think OFBA is bad law, badly drafted and hurriedly introduced. I am told by friends who held high rank in the police, it is a difficult act under which someone can be prosecuted – the same officers still believe the former “catch-all” Breach of the Peace charge was a better means of nabbing the loonies at football.

But, for all that, it was a genuine attempt to sort-out a festering sore on the face of Scottish football, and, it addressed an issue which the Scottish football authorities had spent 100-years either ignoring or if they did give it some attention, shying away from tackling properly.

All good pals and jolly good company

Offensive behaviour at football matches is not a problem confined to just two clubs (or one club if you are a member of the most-easily-offended family of supporters of one club in the world). I have seen some offensive behaviour among less than 50 fans at a junior game, just as I have seen it among 130,000 fans in the old Hampden Park.

You don't have to be singing about being: “Up to our knees in Fenian blood” or chanting your support for the IRA to offend people. Fans at Scottish football matches have taken offence to such minor incidents as a club mascot placing a very large supposed air freshener in front of them (Paisley Panda v the Morton fans at Love Street) or the goalkeeper of the opposing team ostentatiously blessing himself (Artur Boruc, “the Holy Goalie” at Ibrox). I even remember a female Kilmarnock fan, on a near-deserted Rugby Park terrace, choosing to stand less than six feet away from the legendary Hamilton supporter “Fergie”, then being offended when Fergie gave his familiar exhibition of his command of early Anglo-Saxon invective.

Artur Boruc - upset the Rangers' fans

No, Offensive Behaviour at Football is not a duopoly, although, having more fans than the rest put together, the Old Firm must, by definition, have more loonies who are likely to behave offensively; therefore, they get the most attention on this issue.

As a sub-issue here, there are suggestions this whole – let's get rid of OBFA campaign has been hatched-up by the powerful Celtic-supporting wing of the Glasgow Labour Party, who believe, The Sash, Derry's Walls, The Billy Boys and the Famine Song – particularly the Famine Song - are offensive; while their favoured anthems are simply traditional Irish folk songs, or political protest songs, sung to emphasise Celtic's honourable Irish history and tradition. Aye Right.

The fact, some Celtic fans found themselves in court under OBFA legislation was not part of the plan.

The late, great Jock Stein, when faced with complaints that Celtic never seemed to get a fair deal from Scottish referees – the “Never defeated, always cheated” defence – used to say, the best defence against bad refereeing was to take the official out of the equation. Don't give him an excuse to award a soft penalty against you. Maybe Scottish football should do more, a lot more, to blunt the effects of OBFA.

Perhaps if the SPFL Match Delegate at matches involving the Rangers Tribute Act had proper hearing, and could make out the singing of being: “Up to our knees in Fenian blood” or “Fuck the Pope”, then, just maybe, some sort of penalty could be attached to the RTA – deduction of points for instance.

I wager, if the RTA were docked three points every time the Ibrox choir launched into one of their greatest hits, it would not be too-long before the board took action to rid themselves of the proportion of their following who continue to justify the late Ian Archer's tag of being: “A permanent embarrassment and an occasional disgrace”.

Ian Archer - his description of the Rangers' fans has stuck 

It is often suggested, the worst offenders in the Rangers support are to be found among the hard-core who follow-follow to away games. Now, given there are over 30,000 season ticket holders at Ibrox, and only two other Scottish clubs – Celtic and Queen's Park, have grounds big enough to accommodate that number, RTA away tickets are rationed, with most distributed through the various Rangers Supporters Clubs.

It follows then, the club must know which Supporters Clubs have tickets for which games, and, where they are sitting in the away ground. Therefore, if offensive singing breaks out in a particular section, it will not be too-difficult to deduce/prove, members of a particular Supporters Club were doing the offensive singing.

So, the secretary is called in, told his club is not getting any tickets for away games for a period and is under caution as to their future behaviour. I reckon, in no time at all, the offensive singing would stop. The decent supporters would silence the bams, or, the bams would be banned. I use RTA fans as an example here, the same plan would work on the other side of Glasgow.

That's the more-radical, long-term move. It would work, however, I don't think the will exists along the sixth floor corridor at Hampden to make it work. As we all know from past, bitter experience, there is a reluctance in Scottish football, to upset the Old Firm.

So, we have to come down to Holyrood again. I wonder what some of the politicians from the pro-Union parties, who are driving this call to get rid of OBFA will make of it, when some of the wilder elements of Ra Peepul, the staunchest guardians of Unionism in Scotland, make their presence felt. Will the politicos really wish to be seen with Ra Peepul?

Or, might the SNP spike their guns, by saying: “Aye, you're right, OBFA is not perfect, we need to do something about it”, then invite them to make representations to a Holyrood committee to tweak the Act? What will their attitude to that be? I mean, it is one thing to carp from the sidelines, to stick to their well-worn mantra of: “SNP Bad”, it will be quite another thing to have to come up with alternatives to an Act which, for all the opposition of the politicians – has proved popular with the public.