Rghts of football fans

 rights of football fans

Fighting for the rights of football fans

How a Cambridge researcher fought for the rights of football fans and won.

By Zoe Smith

Rangers memorabilia, mainly scarfs, on sale on match day. Credit: Dr Joseph Webster

Impact at a glance

Through direct engagement with the Scottish Parliament and the media, Dr Joseph Webster’s research was instrumental in repealing the Offensive Behaviour at Football and Threatening Communications (Scotland) Act 2012 in March 2018.

Since repeal, ‘at risk’ football fans – mostly young men from deprived communities – will no longer have their prospects blighted by criminal records classing them as sectarian offenders.

The Scottish government went on to allocate £530,000 into anti-sectarianism education in 2019 after the research called for non-legislative solutions to sectarianism via early years education.

full article--https://www.cam.ac.uk/stories/footballact2012?utm_campaign=newsletters&utm_medium=email&utm_source=763732_Cambridge%20News%20Digest%20%2803%2F02%2F22%29&dm_i=6DCF,GDAS,1SDLOY,1ZKAD,1