Media 'likely' to be approached by Scottish Government following Old Firm bigotry summit
The Scottish Government has confirmed that the media is likely to be invited to join in talks following its summit yesterday over the country’s issues with bigotry, a week after heated clashes during and after an Old Firm match.
Yesterday, following consultation with Strathclyde Police, First Minister Alex Salmond let a summit involving both representatives from Celtic and Rangers, as well as from The Scottish Football Association, The Scottish Football League and the Scottish Premier League, politicians and police.
As a result of the summit, a budget of £500,000 was handed to anti violence and anti bigotry organisations in Scotland to tackle the issue, while agreements were made for closer policing of bigoted comment made on football websites.
Speculation has also arisen as to whether the Scottish media would be involved in discussions and whether it could be possible that reporting on such matches could be monitored or even regulated to avoid scandalisation.
Now the Government has confirmed that it is likely to contact members of the media for their input into how to improve the social problem faced within Scotland.
A Scottish Government spokesman said: “This week’s summit was extremely positive, both in terms of the number of substantial proposals brought to the table by all parties and agreement on the direction of travel. In order to build on the excellent existing community partnerships between the Old Firm as well as ramp up support to the clubs, authorities and police in their efforts to tackle alcohol misuse, sectarianism, racism, domestic abuse and violence, we will look to work with the media to help spread responsible messages and encourage better behaviour.”
They added: “The Joint Action Group being established to develop detailed proposals on the back of the summit will look at wider societal issues around football, and is due to report back to Ministers before the start of the new season. It is highly likely that the media will be invited to provide input to the process, although there are no concrete plans at this stage.”
The exact remit and detail of the Joint Working Group is being finalised by officials but it is expected to meet in the coming weeks for the first time.
Yesterday’s summit meeting also saw players and managers of the Old Firm warned that they could face arrest should they ignore police briefings on their future conduct during games.