Scottish football chiefs 'completely in the dark' over SNP's new hate crime ... trends now

Scottish football chiefs have been left 'completely in the dark' over the SNP's new hate crime laws before this weekend's Old Firm derby - with lawyers warning that Celtic fans will flood police with complaints. 

There have been no talks between government officials and the Scottish FA (SFA) over how the legislation will affect football games and no new guidance has been issued to officers before Sunday's game, according to reports. 

Thomas Ross KC predicted Police Scotland would be 'inundated' with hate crime reports from Celtic fans about sectarian songs being sung by the home crowd after this weekend's clash - where away fans are banned for 'safety and security' reasons. 

Ally McCoist was criticised this week after claiming police would have to arrest him and 48,000 other Rangers supporters to enforce the hate crime bill, which he dismissed as 'madness'. He later said he would not be going to the game at all. 

Both the SFA and Scottish Premiership are said to have been left with no idea of what to expect this Sunday if police are under Government orders to come down hard on examples of 'hatred or prejudice'. 

A source told the Daily Record: 'There has been absolutely no engagement from the Scottish government with regards how this new law might manifest itself inside football stadiums.

'As many people have commented it appears to be close to impossible for the police to enforce but we have been completely left in the dark over what to expect now that the new legislation is in place.' 

Previous clashes between Celtic and Rangers have seen supporters hang effigies, chant sectarian songs and brandish offensive banners.

When the teams played each other for the first time in four years in September 2016, Celtic supporters hung blow-up sex dolls from the top tier of the club's Jock Stein Stand - accompanying them with the message: 'This is it Bhoys, this is war'.

A banner was also displayed in the stadium's Green Brigade ultras section, reading: 'Know your place. Hun scum.'

Meanwhile, Rangers fans sang the Billy Boys song, which has been banned at Scottish grounds since 2011, with its line: 'We're up to our knees in F****n' blood.'

Thomas Ross KC, of Benchmark Advocates in Glasgow, said another chant known as 'the Famine Song' could amount to an offence under the new legislation. 

He told MailOnline: 'The new section 4 offence is committed where a person behaves in a manner that a reasonable person would consider to be abusive or insulting, where a reasonable person would consider that behaviour to be likely to result in hatred being stirred up hatred against a group of persons defined by reference to nationality or ethnic or national origins

'There was controversy some years ago about a song sung by some Rangers fans that became known as ''the Famine Song''. That song contained a line ''the famine is over, why don't you go home'' a reference to the arrival of the Irish in Glasgow in the 1840s.

'That could be an example of conduct by fans that could amount to an offence under the new legislation. It may well have constituted an aggravated offence under the old legislation – but although it was sometimes sung, I'm unaware of anybody being prosecuted for doing so.' 

Mr Ross predicted that the new laws could be exploited by fans to score points against their rivals.  

'It is likely that the match will give rise to complaints about alleged breaches of the new legislation - historically there's a lot of animosity between the supporters of the two clubs and each group of fans report the other for songs that they each sing at matches,' he said. 

'But I don't think it's likely we'll see any prosecutions at football games or anywhere else - the law is too complicated.'

Celtic head across Glasgow leading the Scottish Premiership table by just a point from their bitter rivals Rangers, who retain game in hand.

There will be no Celtic fans in attendance at Ibrox this time but away allocations will return next season after a truce was reached between the two clubs.

Conservative MSP Murdo Fraser today accused Police Scotland of 'making it up as they go' as discrepancies emerged in how the country's hate crime laws were being recorded.

The force confirmed on Tuesday that comments made by Harry Potter

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