Promoting Citizenship through Football ââ?¬â?? The Sectarianism Sham Continues Unabated

[Frankie 8,552]

http://www.gersnetonline.co.uk/newsite/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=740&Itemid=2

 

 

 

Regular Gersnet readers will remember we submitted a full report into the failings of the ââ?¬Ë?Sectarianism in Football Working Groupââ?¬â?¢ ââ?¬â?? established in 2006 (a). This group - consisting of the Scottish Executive, the SFA, sportscotland, ACPOS, the SPL and the SFL - along with contributions from Rangers FC, Celtic FC and Glasgow University ââ?¬â?? reported on the effect Scottish football had on the social problem of sectarianism in Scotland. A wide range of action points were agreed by all parties involved to help address the issue.

 

Despite their obvious relevance to the subject, no fans were invited to take part other than the main office holders of fan associations which don�t always accurately represent the views all supporters. Certainly these fan associations didn�t seem to consult their members before commenting either.

 

In addition to this immediate constitutional failing it became obvious during the presentation of the Gersnet report (b) to these various bodies that our constructive criticism of the working group was deemed not important enough to comment on.

 

None of the above bodies have offered to discuss the content of our report other than a generic intention to examine it and forward it to the new group: ââ?¬Ë?Promoting Citizenship through Footballââ?¬â?¢ - established in October 2008 ©. The author of the Gersnet report has asked several times to be included in the new committee (or at the very least consulted with regard to its operations) but no further information has been received.

 

The main reason for our request to be included is because, bizarrely, the exact same bodies that made up the failed initial group are included once again in the new committee. Thatââ?¬â?¢s all well and good but given their lack of communication with ââ?¬Ë?decent citizensââ?¬â?¢ and the obvious lack of imagination to include other qualified people/organisations (such as Michael Boyd of the Irish FA and the Police Service Of Northern Ireland), the credibility of the new group is immediately open to debate.

 

Furthermore, when one examines the new expanded financial remit of the PCTF group, this is where ââ?¬Ë?decent citizensââ?¬â?¢ may start to get worried. Ã?£2.5million from the Scottish Government's Cashback (d) scheme until 2011, Ã?£0.6million to ââ?¬Ë?tackle sectarianism and racismââ?¬â?¢, and only Ã?£0.07million to promote healthy living; suggests the group havenââ?¬â?¢t taken Sir David Murrayââ?¬â?¢s quotes about sectarianism/racism being exaggerated while ignoring much more prevalent social problems such as obesity and drugs seriously (e). This is even stranger when the aims of the new group are mainly made up of addressing the more prevalent problems SDM mentions. How do they justify their allocation of funds?

 

And that is just one question which these government officials fail to answer. After all, considering sectarianism and racism is still happening at football (but hardly a huge problem comparatively speaking) the new quota of Ã?£125,000 to the failed (and rather dubious) anti-sectarianism ââ?¬Ë?charityââ?¬â?¢ Nil by Mouth (f) is surely worthy of challenge by Scottish tax-payers. I say dubious because this ââ?¬Ë?charityââ?¬â?¢ seems to pick and choose the issues they involve themselves with and didnââ?¬â?¢t even take the time to acknowledge or comment on the balanced report I sent them.

 

Add in an obvious imbalance in the way they approach their remit having been shown to show different attitudes depending on the background of the people who contact them, then tax-payers are quite correct to question their work. Just what do they do with their money apart from wasting it on calling back inaccurate DVDs? Another high-profile beneficiary of this money ââ?¬Ë?Kick out Bigotryââ?¬â?¢ seem equally impotent and unresponsive to debate.

 

So where are PCTFââ?¬â?¢s money and resources going and how are they being used? Is the continual inaccurate and sensationalist coverage of the Scottish media being challenged? Are the fans not represented by member associations being surveyed? Are the police being forced to justify their actions as ââ?¬Ë?aggravated breach of peace chargesââ?¬â?¢ seem to be rising? Just when do clubs/fans break the new SPL ââ?¬Ë?Unacceptable Conductââ?¬â?¢ Rules? Why do the other action points agreed in 2006 remain incomplete?

 

All I see are more and more questions of the same tired people/organisations that have already shown they will fail when trusted with millions of pounds of public money. And when we ask these questions, we�re either ignored completely or patronised by governmental bureaucrats.

 

What is to be then? Are they really wanting to ââ?¬Ë?Promote Citizenshipââ?¬â?¢ or is this just another sham to further highlight the only secret shame in Scotland is that of her 'decent citizens' and 'decent football fans' continually being ignored by those they elect?

 

 

References:

 

(a) - http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2006/12/11144623/0

 

(b) - Please contact us if you would like a copy of our report (released in mid-2008)

 

© - http://www.scotland.gov.uk/News/Releases/2008/12/10145304

 

(d) - http://www.cashbackscotland.com/index.php?page=1.2

 

(e) - http://tinyurl.com/49xos4

 

(f) - http://news.scotsman.com/politics/SNP-throws-antisectarianism-charity-a.4934351.jp

 

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