14 hours ago
Kick yobs out of Scottish football after violence and disorder mars beautiful game
Kick yobs out of beautiful game
Scottish football enjoys a reputation for having some of the most passionate but good natured fans around.
Every major championship – when we qualify – sees our supporters winning hearts and minds in our host countries.
When it comes to club football, we have some of the highest attendances per head of population in Europe.
Our love affair with the beautiful game is there for all to see.
But during the season just finished we have witnessed a new and darker edge creeping in to Scottish football.
Black-clad 'ultra' groups left shoppers terrified as they rampaged through the streets of Glasgow before the Old Firm League Cup final in December.
Pyro-waving mobs also tarnish matchdays with their dangerous displays around and inside football grounds.
Then there is the growing menace of items being thrown at players on the pitch – with one Aberdeen player being hospitalised after he was hit by a seat thrown by one of his own fans.
This violence and disorder could end up as a defining characteristic of Scottish football unless tough action is taken.
So it is encouraging to hear Justice Secretary Angela Constance vow to tackle this problem. She staged a summit with clubs, police and fans yesterday to try to find a way forward.
And in an interview in today's Daily Record she tells how her own experiences watching football have inspired her to take action.
We wish Constance well in her campaign to clean up Scottish football.
Real fans will also be singing her praises if she succeeds.
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Learn lessons
In 2015, Nicola Sturgeon declared that cutting the education attainment gap would be her 'priority' as first minister.
She said she 'wants to be judged on this' and that 'it really matters'.
She even made John Swinney – her then deputy and one of her closest allies – education secretary to make sure progress was made.
So it is surprising that after 18 years of promises under the SNP, the gap between the richest and poorest going to university is widening.
Scottish Government statistics showed 25 per cent of young people from the poorest areas went to uni last year, compared with 60 per cent of the most wealthy kids.
The gap of 34.7 per cent is up on the 32.5 per cent figure from the year before.
Scotland's most disadvantaged pupils risk being left behind when it comes to higher education.
No wonder so many young people feel disengaged from politics when promises like this are not kept.
