sport news Come Monday morning police will be inundated with complaints from Celtic fans ... trends now
There is definitely the potential for people to be in breach of this new legislation at Sunday’s Old Firm match.
Whether the cops will go wading in and start picking people out of a crowd of 50,000, I’m not quite so sure.
But, undoubtedly, there’s the possibility that things could be sung or said that could amount to an offence.
However, in terms of the aggravation part of the act, a lot that was already in law anyway even before this new bill was passed.
For instance, people might commit a breach of the peace, which is the most common thing for people to be charged with at a football match. But that was law anyway.
Complaints related to Scotland's new hate crime law are to be expected after Sunday's Old Firm
But most offences supporters could be guilty of are already covered in existing legislation
A lot of it isn’t actually new. It’s been an offence to commit any act of racial hatred since 1965 [due to Race Relations Act].
This aspect of stirring things up is difficult to prove. Theoretically, someone could be charged with stirring up hatred, but it’s far more likely they’d just be charged with something that’s been in law for many years [breach of the peace].
But it’s an absolute certainty. Come Monday morning, Police Scotland will be inundated with complaints from Celtic fans who have watched the game on TV.
They will have the volume turned up full blast, listening for something to complain about in terms of
