sport news Ally McCoist u-turns and says he now WON'T attend Rangers vs Celtic amid ... trends now
Ally McCoist has revealed he has changed his plans and will not attend the Old Firm derby between Rangers and Celtic on Sunday after admitting he has upset people with his comments on Scotland's new hate crime law.
The Hate Crime and Public Order (Scotland) Act 2021, which came into force on Monday, created a new crime of 'stirring up hatred' relating to age, disability, religion, sexual orientation, transgender identity or being intersex.
McCoist, who formerly played and managed Rangers, described the new law as 'madness' on Tuesday, and claimed he and his fellow Rangers fans were likely to risk breaching it this weekend if it was enforced.
He told talkSPORT on Tuesday: 'We've got a hate bill by the way, a hate bill has been passed in the country.
'And 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.'
Ally McCoist revealed on talkSPORT that he was aware he had upset people with his comments on Scotland's new hate crime law and confirmed he will no longer attend Rangers vs Celtic
McCoist sparked controversy on Tuesday when he claimed he and 48,000 Rangers fans would be at risk of breaching the new law if it was enforced
His controversial comments have sparked a backlash from fans, and McCoist has now stated he will no longer be going to the match.
When quizzed by talkSPORT host and Celtic fan Alan Brazil on whether he still planned to attend, McCoist replied: 'No, I'm away with the kids for a couple of days.
'People are accusing me of doing this or doing that. But there's been a change of plans, I'm going away for a few days.
'But a few of my older boys will be there, I'll be watching it, and I'm sure I'll get a text or two from you.'
Brazil could not resist aiming a dig at McCoist as he teased him by saying: 'I see you have made some of the front pages,' but McCoist insisted he was not bothered about the controversy his initial remarks had made.
'I'm over it. I seem to have upset a few people,' he continued.
Asked where he was planning to go, he responded: 'I'm away. I don't know yet.'
The rivalry between Rangers and Celtic is widely viewed as one of the fiercest in British football, and the fixture has become notorious for sectarian chanting.
Celtic's roots are embedded in Catholicism while Rangers supporters are typically associated with Protestantism, harking back to when settlers from Belfast first arrived in Glasgow.
McCoist told talkSPORT host Alan Brazil that he will be going away for a few days rather than watching Sunday's match at Ibrox
Games between Rangers and Celtic have become notorious for sectarian chanting
Previous clashes between the two teams have seen supporters hang effigies, chant sectarian songs and brandish offensive banners.
When the sides 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.'
There will be no Celtic fans in attendance at Ibrox this weekend but away allocations will return next season after a truce was reached between the two clubs.
Critics of the new Hate Crime Act say it could be used to stifle free speech and that gender-critical activists could be jailed for using the wrong pronoun for a transgender person.
Harry Potter author JK Rowling has been particularly critical of the new law, and has already challenged the police to arrest her if they believe she has committed an offence after she described several transgender women as men. Rowling said 'freedom of speech and belief' would end as a result of the new legislation.
In a lengthy statement on X, Rowling wrote: 'The re-definition of 'woman' to include every man who declares himself one has already had serious consequences for women's and girls’ rights and safety in Scotland, with the strongest impact felt, as ever, by the most vulnerable, including female prisoners and rape survivors.
'It is impossible to
