BILLY McNeill, one of Scottish football's most respected figures, has reignited the furore over Catholic schools by declaring sectarianism can be ended only by integrated schooling.
He called for a change in the educational system with children going ''to the same schools regardless of their religion'', during an interview with an unofficial Celtic fanzine.
His comments provoked strong condemnation from the Catholic Church, which said McNeill should stick to football and steer clear of education.
McNeill went to Our Lady's High, Motherwell, the same school Cardinal Winning attended. The first British footballer to lift the European Cup when he captained the Lisbon Lions in 1967, he follows Jack McConnell, first minister, and Kirsty Wark, the broadcaster, who called for debate on the issue, into the public row.
A fierce reaction from leading Catholic figures and private warnings by Labour MSPs forced Mr McConnell to back down after suggesting shared campuses could be used to bridge the sectarian divide.
McNeill, in this week's Alternative View, says he knows his comments will cause controversy but believes integration is the way forward. ''For me the solution is schooling. To achieve that solution kids must go to the same schools regardless of their religion. Maybe with that, in a hundred years or so, the nonsense that is sectarianism will be over.''
He declined last night to comment further on his remarks.
Fans recently voted McNeill Celtic's greatest captain. In the interview, he says he respects the struggle of previous generations to establish Catholic schools but that the faith is strong enough to survive.
''I know my opinions here will upset some people but it is what I believe after thinking on this subject a great deal. If we all went to school together we would perhaps learn to respect each other and each other's beliefs. We could then become a unified country rather than a divided one.''
Peter Kearney, the church spokesman, said there was no evidence to suggest integrated schooling reduced religious hatred. ''Sectarianism, intolerance and bigotry are bred in homes not schools ... Billy McNeill is respected as a sportsman but he is not experienced as an educationalist.''
Ivan Middleton, secretary of the Humanist Society of Scotland, said: ''I would endorse everything Billy McNeill said.''
Matt McGlone, editor of Alternative View, said: ''Billy is entitled to his thoughts just like anyone else.''
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