SUPPORTERS will be able to report fans who are using racist language on match days without fearing for their personal safety in future by using a new text service that is to be put in place by the SFA at all 42 senior clubs across Scotland.
The governing body’s equality and diversity advisory board has just completed its anti-discrimination action plan – a 40 point paper that is a direct response to the incident involving Rangers midfielder Glen Kamara in a Europa League game against Slavia Prague at Ibrox in March.
Players who are found guilty of racial or homophobic abuse towards an opponent face being banned for up to a year – the most severe punishment in the European game - if the strict new disciplinary measures being proposed are given the go ahead.
However, the SFA are also concerned about the alarming rise in racism in the stands at grounds across the country and David McCardle, their diversity and inclusion manager, revealed that a plan is in place to stamp out the concerning problem.
“The anti-discrimination action plan shows we are going to work with clubs to make sure every single club has a text service,” he said.
“If I am a fan and I am sitting at, say, Tynecastle and I hear discriminatory language from somebody sitting beside me, it is very hard for me to go and speak to a steward about it. Then the person just says: ‘You spoke to a steward about me, I‘m gonna get you!’
“A father who is there with his family won’t do anything because he runs the risk of putting his family at risk. It takes a very strong person for somebody to stand up against something that is wrong and not think about their personal safety.
“If you have a text service you can text and say: ‘I am sitting in G4, somebody next to me is using abusive racist language’. Suddenly the stewards can move in, suddenly the cameras can move in, and the club can identify people better.
“An email service will also allow people to report things after the game in a secure and safe environment. That encourages people to report these forms of discrimination.”
Rico Quitongo, the Airdrie defender, alleged he was racially abused by one of his own club’s supporters at a cinch League 1 match against Queen’s Park at the Penny Cars Stadium last month.
Dundee United claimed their midfielder Jeando Fuchs was targeted by away supporters in the Premiership fixture against Ross County at Tannadice on Saturday and have submitted evidence to the SFA and SPFL
“We are going to work with clubs as part of this action plan to implement the text facility across the whole of the senior level of Scottish football so we can make a better attempt to allow people to report discrimination, not just let it go,” said McCardle.
“We can’t control fans and don’t have the opportunity to punish clubs for their fan behaviour. But we can certainly support clubs, show them how to deal with it and explain how to put in place action plans.”
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel