THE most infamous sexual abuse scandal in Scottish football involved Celtic Boys Club when in 1998 a former coach, Jim Torbett, was convicted of abusing three boys.
These attacks took place between 1968 and 1974, Torbett was jailed for 30 months, and another coach charged but not convicted. Nobody in their right minds believes such behaviour was limited to this one sordid individual and just one club.
Today, in such enlightened times, songs are proudly belted out about the abuse, lies peddled, moronic banners taken to matches and innocent names dragged through the mud – I won’t mention them here as that would be giving in to the mob – all in the name of "football banter".
Is it any wonder there would be a reluctance for anyone in this country to come forward, as a depressingly long list of former players have done in England, to publicly talk about any abuse they had suffered?
Instead of being seen as heroic, which is exactly what Andy Woodward, Paul Stewart and the too many others are, many so-called football supporters would be inspired to make such unimaginable human pain part of their seemingly never-ending game called whataboutery.
PFA Scotland chief Fraser Wishart is one of the good guys and football could do with more good ones.
He and his dedicated staff are there to help and last week joined forces with the SFA to launch, in conjunction with the NSPC, a hotline for anyone affected with this horrific issue.
“I know sometimes people mistrust a hotline,” said Wishart. “I can assure anyone who wants to call that there are professional councillors on the end of the phone. If they felt more comfortable speaking to us, that is absolutely fine. We would help anyone in football.
“Given the stories that have come from England and the bravery these lads have shown, it is naïve to think that it’s not happened in Scotland.
“What we want to do as the players union is to try and create a safe and comfortable environment for anybody to come forward. We would encourage anybody that feels the need to come forward or wants the support to do just that.
“That doesn’t necessarily mean their names would appear in the media. There is a confidential hotline with the emphasis on confidential. If that information was to be shared with us, and that would only be on the individual’s say-so, we have a counselling service in place for people who would want to be helped.
“Our role is to provide protection and trust. We care.”
It’s not been a great few years for football. From FIFA's morality to Qatar hosting the World Cup and now this. It can sometimes feel that the once beautiful game is gone.
“If I can defend football as an industry, I think they are far better now than they were,” said Wishart."I believe football deals with a lot of these issues far better than given credit for. We also have to deal with it in the public domain. It’s not a case of dealing with it solely within the workplaces. This happens on the front pages.
“With all of these aspects, football seems to have become the public conscience. I think that is wrong.
“We have had criticism that no well-known player has come as out as gay in the UK. Do they have to? I am very much for individual consent. If somebody doesn’t want to come forward and declare to the world they are gay then that’s fine. Football can be wrongly accused of protectionism and not being open, and I think it’s far more open than people think."
Abuse is abuse. There are different levels, of course, but it is any surprise no player so far is prepared to talk openly about the subjects mentioned above when there remains a stigma about professionals complaining about being shouted at inside our grounds.
“Players aren’t going to put their head above the parapet because they run the risk of being absolutely ridiculed,” admitted Wishart and sadly he’s right. Some of the stuff you hear at Scottish football grounds is utterly abhorrent and, yet, those on the receiving end are expected to just stand there and take it.
“It’s nearly 2017, for goodness sake and yet some of the individual shouts are dreadful," said Wishart. "Of course you are going to get booed, slagged off for the way they play or even their hairstyle, and what we call banter is fine.
“But some of the stuff is awful. You can picture the fan with their eyes bulging and veins coming out of their neck, and hurling abuse about their family, wife, children, wishing them ill. The game is doing a lot of self-examination and the fans should look at their own conduct. At least have a think about it.
“We want to get people into football grounds. Football has to stop giving out negative headlines.”
Amen to that.
The hotline will be available 24 hours a day on 0800 023 2642 or contact PFA Scotland on 00 44 (0)141 353 0199
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