Dozens of British Army soldiers who were accused of singing sectarian songs when they attended a Glasgow Rangers match at Ibrox in late September will not face prosecution, it has emerged.
The incident at the Rangers v Stenhousemuir match was filmed by a number of spectators, while videos uploaded on to YouTube appeared to show the soldiers in uniform joining in singing No Surrender, along with chants.
Military tribute
The soldiers had been guests of Glasgow Rangers at a delayed Armed Forces Day event, where organisations and companies pay tribute to the role of the British military.
“We have not as yet received a prosecution report in respect of any specific individuals, and as such there are currently no ongoing proceedings in relation to this incident,” said a Crown Office spokesperson yesterday.
Police Scotland has sent a report detailing the circumstances of the incident to the Scottish prosecutor, the Procurator Fiscal, but it did not make any recommendation about whether prosecutions should or should not take place.
Prosecutions could happen if Police Scotland followed up with a so-called “standard prosecution report” about particular individuals, but it is understood that no further investigation is taking place.
Hard line
Police Scotland and the Scottish Football Association have taken an increasingly hard line against sectarian conduct at football matches, which has plagued Old Firm derbies over the years.
Last month, a man was banned from attending any football matches for three years when he was observed by police at a Hearts v Celtic match swearing and singing offensive songs.
Speaking after this case, the prosecutor said such conduct is “not acceptable”.
However, the legislation is deeply unpopular with many football fans, who believe that it interferes with long-cherished habits, while some judges have warned that the legislation is confusingly written.
A review is due by August 2015, but some Scottish MSPs are now pressing for this to happen earlier saying that they have received numerous complaints about how the police are operating the legislation every week.
