Sectarian behaviour remains a major problem for Scottish football.
Abusive songs and chants at matches spill over into violence in many communities.
Nil by Mouth is campaigning for Rangers and Celtic football clubs to take the following actions to enforce their anti-sectarian stance. We also encourage other clubs with problems of sectarian behaviour among their support to adopt these policies. The game's governing bodies, the Scottish Football Association and the Scottish Premier League, must also take the lead to ensure that the problem is dealt with strongly and consistently whenever bigoted behaviour blights our national sport.
- Identify say 10 "supporters" at home games who indulge in sectarian behaviour e.g. singing sectarian songs and chants; remove offenders from the stadium; withdraw their season tickets and put life bans in place. In addition quantify and publicise action taken and make the information available to the media to highlight and in turn create a deterrent to others. Keep clear detailed records on the number of supporters ejected from the stadium for sectarian behaviour and make this information publicly available and easily accessed by the media, politicians and others
- Develop a strategy to identify offending "supporters" at away matches by agreeing a course of action with local police and opposition clubs to enable these individuals to be removed and barred. Again publicise offenders where possible
- Establish a charter, arrived at through consultation and agreement with supporters' organisations, setting out what your club stands for and what it is against
- Identify and publicise the type of singing and chanting which is and is not acceptable
- Hold a joint media conference and make an impassioned plea to both sets of supporters that the time has come to draw a line in the sand and that bigotry has no place within the support of Rangers and Celtic. At that conference announce a specific date for implementing the above actions. Both clubs should be represented by their chairman, manager and club captain
- Both clubs to participate in the production by Nil by Mouth of an anti-bigotry pack for use in schools which will highlight why bigotry is wrong and the advantages of living in a culturally diverse society
- Ensure that every ticket (match, season and corporate hospitality) carries a warning that breach of the club's rules on sectarian behaviour will lead to exclusion and that those breaching these rules may have their names and photographs published
- Ensure that the players, the people with the biggest influence on fans, lend their support to the anti-sectarian message
Nil by Mouth is a Charitable Trust registered in Scotland no SCO 30375
The trust is a partner organisation of both the Scottish Executive and the Sense Over Sectarianism initiative.