These Are Hard Times For Thistle Men

MANAGEMENT put her foot down last week. It was my turn to be off-rota for covering a Saturday game, so, I was telt, in no uncertain terms, we were having a weekend away, which we spent on a sun-kissed Black Isle, with one of our oldest friends.

 

When it came to sport, I was allowed to watch the Japanese shock the Sprinboks in the Rugby World Cup - management has a Japanese daughter-in-law; then on Sunday, see the All Blacks roll over the Argentinian Pumas. As for football, well, I was allowed to check the results via the red button.

 

There was another brief flirtation with fitba, on Dingwall High Street on Saturday, when I exchanged pleasantries with one of the vanguard of Jags' fans, who had trekked up the A9 for their meeting with Ross County.

 

As Ian "Dan" Archer and Big Malcolm Munro (two fitba writers who never made it into the Lap Top Loyal, because they were born and bred "Harry Wraggs") used to mutually assert, when they bumped into one another in Glasgow: "These are hard times for Thistle men"; 'twas ever thus, which is maybe why Thistle are so-many fitba fans' second team.

 

Sadly, once again, in Dingwall on Saturday, it was: "Partick Thistle nil". That said, I would not write them off just yet.

 

 

 

THIS wee stushie about the attitude to bigotry and sectarianism in Scottish football, and how that attitude apparently survives on Hampden's sixth floor - where the football corridors of power are located - rumbles on.

 

 It is difficult, given the well-known Dutch ability to speak English, to entirely believe Ajax's assertion that the SFA told them bigotry and sectarianism was part of the fabric of Scottish football. A wee bit of "lost in translation" there perhaps.

 

But, the fact is, sectarianism and bigotry has been in Scottish football for over 100-years, we comment about it; sometimes we shout about ending it, but, it is still here.

 

Of course, bigotry and sectarianism in Scotland is not confined to football. It exists across the country, it is not a 90-minutes once or twice a week phenomenon. As such, to expect football to eradicate attitudes which are allowed to exist outwith the game is ridiculous.

 

A lot as been done to end it, but, a lot more still has to be done.

 

But, football, and in particular the two clubs with particularly long-standing and dangerous bigotry and sectarianism issues, could and should do more.

 

I have long said: with modern, all-seated stadia, the Bigot Brothers could very quickly root-out the shouty bigots from their home support. They could just as easily do so too with their regular away following.

 

How? Simples, with modern surveillance equipment, they could perhaps pin-point that the offensive chants and songs were coming from a specific area of the ground. They then write to the season ticket holders in that section, telling them: "cut this out or lose your season-ticket rights for two or three games".

 

"Do it again - lose it for longer". "Three strikes and you are out". By rigidly enforcing a zero tolerance policy, the clubs would, I feel, within a season, permanently shut-up the bigots.

 

As far as the away fans are concerned, there is evidence most of the small ticket allocation goes to official supporters clubs. Therefore, if there is sectarian singing and chanting on away grounds, again, using portable surveillace equipment, the offenders could be pin-pointed. Then, the official supporters club branch or branches in that section are told: "Sort-out your bigots or you will not be getting tickets".

 

Self-policing will, by and large, do the rest. If individual idiots will not change, they can and will be isolated and dealt with. All it takes is serious will to enforce change being shown by the clubs and the SFA.

 

Aye - there's the rub.