On Monday, 1 April, the Hate Crime and Public Order Act came into force in Scotland which means it is now an offence to behave in a way that could stir up hatred or be seen as abusive towards a protected group or characteristic.
Protected characteristics include age, disability, religion and sexual orientation and the Old Firm Derby this weekend is set to test the strength of the new law if previous clashes are anything to go by.
For as long as time itself, the Old Firm Derby has been littered with chants centred around religious beliefs. Celtic are a staunch catholic club while Rangers are historically protestant – two undeniable facts that have effectively shaped this rivalry for nearly 150 years.
Over the past couple of years, the clubs have attempted to water down the rivalry by limiting and then banning away supporters at each stadium. Although they are set to return next season, the match on Sunday at Ibrox will have solely Rangers fan in attendance which means they are the ones at risk of breaching the new Hate Crime and Public Order Act.
Concerns over Hate Crime and Public Order Act ahead of Old Firm Derby
Across the opening couple of days of the act being in force, police received nearly 4,000 complaints relating to the new law. MSP, Murdo Fraser, has expressed his concerns and ‘fears' ahead of the Old Firm Derby and has predicted that police will face a ‘deluge' of new complaints during and after the match.
His comments come after Rangers legend, Ally McCoist, added fuel to the fire by saying that he is prepared to break the new laws at the Old Firm. On TalkSport, McCoist said:
“I can guarantee you, next Sunday at Ibrox, I, along with 48,000 will be committing a breach of that hate bill in the particular Rangers vs Celtic game we are all going to. It is madness.”
🗣️'I will be committing a breach of that hate bill'
Ally McCoist ‘guarantees' he will breach the Scottish Hate Crime Act at this weekend's Rangers vs Celtic Old Firm game pic.twitter.com/R6R4ASWHP5
— The National (@ScotNational) April 2, 2024
In response to this, Mundo Fraser said:
“What this points to is the level of uncertainty there is about the reach of this law and the concerns that were expressed in the run-up to the law being enacted by the police, and that the police would find themselves deluged by lots of spurious and vexatious complaints.
“I think there’s a real concern we are going to see that on the back of the Old Firm match this weekend just as we’ve seen it at the start of this week. I suspect very few, if any, will ever lead to prosecutions but police will need to spend their time looking into this matter when, in my view, they should be dealing with much more serious offences.