THERE is nothing wrong in wanting football players to aspire to a higher standard of conduct without believing it also necessary to hold them accountable for society’s wider problems. That’s not a contradictory stance.
Players behaving badly on the field isn’t a new concept. There have been crude tackles, off-the-ball incidents, gamesmanship, goading, and general boorishness since the ball first rolled almost 150 years ago.
A lot of it can be quite distasteful and occasionally there are moments that genuinely shock but, in relative terms, there is very little that takes place even within the confines of the most febrile of football atmospheres that could be considered truly provocative or inflammatory.
Footballers may be considered role models to some but the distinction should be clear to all between what is acceptable on the pitch and what is allowed away from the game, even if there is an element of hypocrisy within that.
As the country’s national sport, the focus is trained on football more intensely that on any other walk of life when it comes to ill-discipline, even if the incidents themselves are rarely worth getting flustered over. Football, after all, is hardly the most aggressive of sports.
Anyone wanting to draw a correlation between what happens in the sporting arena and subsequent acts of public violence would surely be better off examining more combative pursuits such as mixed martial arts or boxing, rather than a game where a player kicking another on the ankle tends to be about as lively as it gets.
Blaming players’ actions during a game, therefore, for whatever happens hours later in pubs, homes and on the streets is both dangerous and disingenuous. Supporters may become emotionally invested and energised during a particularly frenetic match – such as last weekend’s Old Firm derby – but that shouldn’t be used as an excuse for their own actions.
Alfredo Morelos and Ryan Kent may both have agitated Celtic fans by lashing out at Scott Brown, and the Celtic captain may have raised the ire of Rangers supporters by, well, generally winding everyone up, but there isn’t a judge in the country who would surely accept blaming a footballer misbehaving on the pitch as a valid justification for a defendant’s own act of criminality. And those who continue to make that correlation are playing a dangerous game.
It makes sense for the police to speak with both dressing rooms ahead of such a fixture and request that they do not inflame the situation with their actions. That does not mean, however, that the players are to blame if they do not heed those words. Brown was daft to stand defiantly in front of the Rangers fans at full time last Sunday but if someone is moved to violence at such a meaningless, harmless act then the problem lies with them and not with the player.
That is not to say the Scottish FA were wrong when they unveiled their charge sheet that cited both clubs, Rangers manager Steven Gerrard and Brown for their actions in the derby. Brown’s charge of “not acting in the best interests of Association football” almost felt like a quaint throwback.
The incidents referred to – including the scenes at the end – seemed fairly tame overall, with a lot of gesturing, finger-pointing and shoving in the heat of the moment. Still, the governing bodies are damned if they do, and damned if they don’t in these situations meaning you can’t blame the Scottish FA for feeling it was necessary to try to keep their house in order by taking action. Better football doing that itself before other meddling outside parties decide to try to have an influence.
It may not be as simple as that when it comes to dealing with the growing problem of anti-social behaviour within football stadia. The firecracker released on to the pitch by a Celtic fan at St Mirren Park on Wednesday night was the latest in a catalogue of incidents this season, with missile throwing at or near players and officials a particularly worrying trend.
There have been calls again for strict liability to be introduced which would have seen St Mirren punished for allowing an away supporter in to their ground with pyrotechnics. Would that be fair? Would it even be fair to punish Celtic for the behaviour of one of their fans in that scenario? It doesn’t feel like it.
As long as clubs can continue to prove they are doing all they can to prevent problems like this, then, again, the bulk of the responsibility ought to fall on the individuals who, if caught, deserve to be prosecuted and banned from Scottish football for life, rather than blaming the clubs.
Politicians, though, already have their eye on this issue, with James Dornan MSP seemingly intent on wheeling out fresh legislation as the successor of the unpopular and now repealed Offensive Behaviour at Football Act.
That is the last thing the Scottish game needs right now. Instead, clubs should be trying to improve relations with all elements of their fan base – including the Ultra groups – while the police also need to develop better communication channels with supporters and start treating the well-behaved majority like human beings rather than cattle.
Most importantly, however, fans, whether inside grounds or away from them, need to wise up and start taking responsibility for their own actions. There is nobody else to blame.
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