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- Thread starter Mind The Duck
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[h=1]Chart success for Celtic fans[/h]
Friday 14 February 2014
AN Irish rebel song banned at Scottish football matches has soared to 24 in the top 40 singles chart after a campaign by a group of Celtic fans.
Roll of Honour is associated with the 1981 Maze Prison hunger strikes, but has gone ahead of tracks by Rihanna, Katy Perry and Avicii.
Fans Against Criminalisation (FAC), which has been set up to oppose the controversial Offensive Behaviour At Football Act, were behind the release of Roll Of Honour in a bid to "embarrass the hypocrites who seek to criminalise us".
Since the announcement earlier this month thousands of fans have been busy downloading the track from iTunes.
The Official Charts website read: "The Irish Brigade's Roll Of Honour is set to climb into the UK Top 40 this weekend.
"Originally released in the 80s, the Irish protest song has shot to Number 24 due to a campaign by Celtic fans who are opposed to the Scottish Government's Offensive Behaviour at Football and Threatening Communications (Scotland) Act 2012 being enforced."
Friday 14 February 2014
AN Irish rebel song banned at Scottish football matches has soared to 24 in the top 40 singles chart after a campaign by a group of Celtic fans.
Roll of Honour is associated with the 1981 Maze Prison hunger strikes, but has gone ahead of tracks by Rihanna, Katy Perry and Avicii.
Fans Against Criminalisation (FAC), which has been set up to oppose the controversial Offensive Behaviour At Football Act, were behind the release of Roll Of Honour in a bid to "embarrass the hypocrites who seek to criminalise us".
Since the announcement earlier this month thousands of fans have been busy downloading the track from iTunes.
The Official Charts website read: "The Irish Brigade's Roll Of Honour is set to climb into the UK Top 40 this weekend.
"Originally released in the 80s, the Irish protest song has shot to Number 24 due to a campaign by Celtic fans who are opposed to the Scottish Government's Offensive Behaviour at Football and Threatening Communications (Scotland) Act 2012 being enforced."
You can though, 'The Sash' is very popular with some - as are many songs with roots in Ireland - but you can't sing it (or them) in Sauchiehall Street or you would be arrested.
Indeed you could, you could also probably sing Roll of Honour during a Republican march through Glasgow without being arrested.
No on both counts.
I don't know where mens rea comes into this with this Act because if it does, then I find it hard to imagine how there could ever be any safe prosecutions under this Act. Yet the Partick fan who made sectarian comments specifically with the intention to offend is allowed to walk..... And so he should, but that was one of the few absolute slam dunk, home run, open goal convictions you could ever hope to get and he was let off as he "wasn't the type of person" the law was introduced for.
A song does not have to be Sectarian to be deemed offensive though Eric. "Ding Dong the witch is dead" was not given any Airplay despite being in the charts for example.
It's the "Offensive Behaviour" at Football act though Reb.
The Act criminalises behaviour which is threatening, hateful or otherwise offensive at a regulated football match including offensive singing or chanting. It also criminalises the communication of threats of serious violence and threats intended to incite religious hatred, whether sent through the post or posted on the internet. The Act will only criminalise behaviour likely to lead to public disorder which expresses or incites hatred, is threatening or is otherwise offensive to a reasonable person.
Rooting out Sectarianism may be the underlying goal but that's not what the law was set up to stop in isolation.
I find the BNP offensive but ****wits still get to vote for them.
So how exactly does this law work?
The BNP don't come to Football grounds and sing or chant though. If they did they would be arrested.
Doesn't make sense. You can vote for a racist government but cant sing a popular song at a football ground.
I'm not sure of the point you are making.
Are you saying there is no requirement for a guilty mind under this Act?
From your post, the guy at Partick was an absolute stick on to get prosecuted.
Incidentally, the BNP could release a single on iTunes, it would not make it any less offensive to a reasonable person nor would it then become acceptable at a football match or even in the street.
Basically it was designed to criminalise Celtic fans singing Republican songs. Politically they couldn't arrest and prosecute the extant illegal behavior of supporters of other clubs because it didn't look even.
Cutting all the other **** out of the way and that is what it is there to do.
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