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Football bigots 'wrecking Scots
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in full TOURISM leaders have admitted that Scotland’s international
reputation is being tarnished by sectarian behaviour at football matches. VisitScotland,
Scotland’s tourism agency, spoke out after supporters of Heart of Midlothian
disrupted a minute’s silence for Pope John Paul II at their team’s match
against Celtic on Sunday. The story
was picked up internationally, with newspapers including the South African
Star, the Toronto-based National Post and the Australian reporting that Scots
football fans had disgraced themselves by failing to respect the Pope’s
death. The influential New York Post ran an article headlined "Soccer
Fans Boo Pontiff", while USA Today stated: "Scottish Soccer Fans
Jeer During Tribute to Pope". Italy’s Tuttosport reported "Booing
from Hearts fans for Pope", while even the China Daily carried a story
saying "Scottish Fans Jeer Pope". The
Times-Picayune in New Orleans headlined its story "Unholy
Hooliganism" and ran an opinion piece which said: "Booing the
deceased Pope is disgustingly mean-spirited and ugly. The weekend’s outbursts
didn’t reveal a rift between Catholics and Protestants as much as they
revealed the difference between decency and disrespect." VisitScotland has
admitted that such headlines are damaging to the country, which over the past
two decades has largely benefited from the good behaviour of its football
supporters. A
spokesman for the tourism agency said that the negative coverage,
particularly in the United States, had come at a bad time, given the success
of Tartan Week in New York. He said:
"VisitScotland obviously denounces the actions of a small minority of
bigots and it is fair to say this kind of behaviour is extremely embarrassing
and does not reflect well on the nation as a whole. "The
international newspaper coverage in the wake of the incident was clearly
widespread and presented a blemish on the otherwise outstanding reputation
Scotland has as one of the most hospitable and welcoming nations in the
world. "The
fact that the story received considerable exposure in the US after the
success of Tartan Week is particularly disappointing. We don’t expect it will
do any significant damage to tourism figures - but it doesn’t exactly
help." Jack
McConnell, the First Minister, has also spoken out. "Whatever happened,
and I didn’t see the incident or hear it, is not reflective of Scotland as a
whole," he said. The
Scottish Premier League and Scottish Football League decided to leave the
decision over whether to hold a minute’s silence before league matches to the
clubs involved. The SFA, however, ordered the tribute to be held before both
of the cup semi-finals. The
minute’s silence at the Hearts’ game was cut short by the referee because of
the disruption from fans. Strathclyde
Police later said that six supporters were arrested for sectarian breach of
the peace, although none of this was related directly to the disruption of
the minute’s silence. After the
match, Hearts’ chief executive Phil Anderton apologised to Celtic’s
supporters and condemned those who failed to honour the silence. He said:
"Scottish football chose to join with people around the world to observe
and respect the minute of silence in tribute to the Pope, and it is
disturbing that some Heart of Midlothian fans failed to see the significance
of the occasion. There is no room for that sort of behaviour." Speaking
for the first time about the incident yesterday, a spokesman for the Catholic
Church in Scotland told The Scotsman that the incident was shameful and
depressing. He said:
"The behaviour of certain football fans last weekend brought shame on
themselves, their club and their country. "At a
time when sworn enemies from across the globe stood side by side in respect
for the late pontiff, when people of all faiths and none were at one in
praising Pope John Paul’s immense contribution, it was depressing but
predictable to watch what the First Minister has rightly called ‘Scotland’s
shame’ on display once more. "Lest
anyone be in any doubt that bigotry is alive and well in Scotland today, let
them view the shameful images of last weekend’s football crowds." If you would like to email us, please do at |
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