WHEN the Scottish Government introduced its 2012 law aimed at reducing offensive behaviour by football fans, this newspaper argued it was an ill-conceived piece of legislation and the way the law has worked in practice has only confirmed that view. The law lacked clarity, the police were confused by it, lawyers and fans had little respect for it, and the conviction rate has been woeful.

Now Jeanette Findlay of the supporters organisation Fans Against Criminalisation has outlined what she sees as the personal consequences of the law for ordinary fans. Writing in The Herald, she acknowledges that bigotry and sectarianism is a problem in Scotland, but says the Offensive Behaviour at Football and Threatening Communications Act is being used to clamp down on boisterous fans who are guilty of little more than high spirits.

She gives a number of examples - the fans arrested for using the F-word when singing about their rivals, for instance, or the group of supporters who told the police where to stick their cameras. She also says some of those who are charged under the act for this kind of behaviour then go on to lose their jobs.

Combined with the low conviction rate and the lack of consistency about what is, or is not, offensive behaviour, the criminalising of football fans in this way further undermines an already discredited piece of legislation. Ms Findlay accuses the police of heavy-handedness but the real problem with the law is that it is dangerously dependent on context and subjective judgment rather than clear rules that fans, officers and lawyers can understand.

Before the legislation was introduced, The Herald argued for a sunset clause so that the law could be reviewed after 12 months. That did not happen, but now, four years later, with fan unhappiness as great as it has ever been, the law should be urgently reviewed. Scotland still has a lot of work to do on sectarianism, but it is hard to see what contribution, if any, this troubled piece of legislation is making.