SCOTLAND's football authorities have been accused of failing to implement key anti-sectarianism measures as the nation braces itself for its first Old Firm encounter in more than two years.
Charity Nil By Mouth has warned the sport has made little progress on recommendations made by Belfast politician Duncan Morrow and his team of Scottish Government advisers a year ago.
Dr Morrow had called for the kind of penalties used to tackle racism in European competitions, such as stadium bans, to be extended to sectarianism in the domestic game. However, Scottish clubs continue to oppose any regime that would have them punished for what they ascribe to the conduct of their customers.
Nil by Mouth's Dave Scott said: "The Morrow Report made a number of clear recommendations for football clubs and authorities to act upon, and the return of the Old Firm fixture needs to focus minds on how little progress had been made on implementing them nearly a year on.
"We would welcome MSPs being able to question the clubs, Scottish Football Association (SFA) and the Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) on their plans for making the findings of the MorrowReport a reality."
Labour last night signalled it expected to secure a debate on sectarianism, the first since 2006, as early as this week. The party's justice spokesman, Graeme Pearson, accused the Scottish Governmentof a lacklustre performance on the issue and added his voice to concerns that Dr Morrow's recommendations were not being implemented.
Mr Pearson, a former senior police officer, said: "Here we are, a few months away from the first Old Firm match in years, and we have had no action whatsoever, just headlines."
Rangers and Celtic did not meet Dr Morrow as he prepared his report. Now the clubs have been drawn to play each other in the semi-finals of the Scottish League Cup in February.
The meeting, their 400th, is the first since April 2012, the first under Rangers's current corporate incarnation and the first since Police Scotland was created.
The match is also expected to be a major test for the Scottish Government's flagship legislation on sectarianism, the Offensive Behaviour at Football Matches law, which was in its infancy the last time the two clubs met. Labour has said it will amend the legislation, which is being reviewed by Stirling University. It was inspired by a 2011 Old Firm "shame game" with 200 arrests. The SFA did not respond to specific calls from Nil By Mouth.
A spokesman said the body continued to work with police, the Scottish Government and others on sectarianism.
He added Dr Morrow's report "recognised the progress made by Scottish football and its clubs in this area in recent years, with real leadership shown through a number of groundbreaking and effective initiatives. We know that, as our clubs continue this good work, there is no complacency."
The SPFL said it remained committed to tackling bigotry.
Before the Morrow Report was published, SFA members voted overwhelmingly against "strict liability" rules that could have resulted in clubs losing points if their fans or staff were found guilty of discrimination.
Asked why no action had been taken on the Morrow Report recommendations, a Scottish Government spokesman said: "We have invested £9 million in community projects and set up [Dr Morrow's] independent advisory group to tackle the scourge of sectarianism, and in 2013-14 religiously aggravated offending decreased by 17 per cent."
He also said charges under the new Offensive Behaviour Act had fallen by almost one-quarter.
Dr Morrow has said he does not want his report to be "a political football".
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