Much of the press’s treatment of sectarianism lacks sensitivity to the historical, hierarchical and relational aspects of religious, political and ethnic identities in Scotland.
The default reaction in much of the media and online is a lazy one. It goes something like this: both sides of the Old Firm are the same and something called ‘sectarianism’ is to blame, a crime of which both are guilty in equal measures.
Such simplistic tropes are repeated ad nauseam in the Scottish press, and have been for so long as to have become truisms. These are what John Kelly calls ‘Sincere Fictions’ in his thesis
Scotland faces a societal problem about far-right Loyalist gang culture that isn’t captured by often pathetic ‘both sides’ media coverage. This is a societal and political problem that can’t and won’t be addressed by football pundits who are locked into normative violence.
This is a turning point as much as 1980 was.
Celtic fans aren’t without blame in all of this, but without serious intervention from political, legal and football authorities, then Ian Archer’s famous quote from 1976 remains true:
“This has to be said about Rangers, as a Scottish Football club they are a permanent embarrassment and an occasional disgrace. This country would be a better place if Rangers did not exist.”
International Review for the Sociology of Sport, 46(4), 418-435