A campaign group has been launched urging Tommy Robinson to stay away from Hearts v Rangers clash at Tynecastle on Sunday.
The co-founder of the English Defence League has vowed to come to a game after a group posed for a photo wearing Hearts shirts and Tommy Robinson masks in front of a McCrae’s Battalion Hearts banner.
READ MORE: Prison sentence was ‘mental torture’, says Tommy Robinson after release
Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, posted a response on Instagram wearing a Hearts top with the reply "coming soon".
However, a campaign has been launched with leaders from Stand Up To Racism - Scotland, Lassies Against Fascism, Show Racism The Red Card Scotland, The Muslim Council of Scotland, and Edinburgh and Lothian Regional Equality Council all calling for Robinson to stay away.
Politicians have also hit back at the news, with Ian Murray, Anas Sarwar, Chris Stephens and John Finnie all backing the campaign. Green MSP and Hearts fan John Finnie said: “Hearts supporters hold our club in deep affection. Our players have come from countless nations and have been of all faiths and none.
Hearts are for everyone regardless of political beliefs/race/religion etc. The same applies to Tommy Robinson.
— The Tynecastle Standers 🇱🇻🇱🇻🇱🇻 (@TStanders) November 22, 2018
John McFadden, chair of United Against Fascism Scotland, said: “It’s obviously nauseating that he’s trying to associate himself with the working classes.”
READ MORE: Trump UK rally planned to merge with Free Tommy Robinson march
“It should be repugnant to all Hearts fans who know anything about the history of their club, for them to associate themselves with him,” he added, referring to McCrae’s Battalion.
Luke Henderson, from Unite Against Fascism Edinburgh, said the number of people who wanted Robinson involved in Scottish football represented a “miniscule number of racists”.
He added: “He’s a dangerous, far-right campaigner with a lengthy criminal record. He seeks to inflame Islamophobia and wider racism. There is no place for him in Scotland, or Scottish football.”
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