Football Policing (Independent Review)
4. (Glasgow) (Lab):
To ask the Scottish Government
whether it will commit to an independent review of football
policing. (S5O-02372)
The Cabinet Secretary for Justice (Humza
Yousaf):
There are around 5 million
supporters at football matches every year in Scotland. The vast
majority of football fans in Scotland are a credit to their
teams, with only a tiny number of incidents compared with the
total number of supporters attending games.
Operational policing is entirely a matter for Police
Scotland. Police Scotland keeps the policing of football
matches under constant review, and the tactics and deployments
that are used will vary depending on the circumstances and the
risks that are associated with each match. Public safety is
paramount and the Scottish Government supports Police Scotland
in taking appropriate and proportionate action in response to
any situation where it is considered that any criminality may
arise.
There is a general framework for Police Scotland’s
approach to football policing and Police Scotland works closely
with clubs to develop policing plans. Those arrangements are
working well and therefore, in my view, there is no need for an
independent review.
:
As a football supporter, the cabinet secretary will be
aware that, so far this season, we have had police filming fans
at a low-level friendly, serious questions being asked about
crowd management at a Celtic v Rangers game, and reports in
the Sunday Herald of police
officers approaching fans asking them to act as paid
informants. There is
widespread concern among football fans about those incidents.
Does the cabinet secretary accept that football supporters have
the right to be respected and the right to support their team
and that an independent review of football policing would
progress that respect among both parties?
:
I will take each of the points in turn but, before I do
that, I will say that I absolutely agree that football fans—any
sports fans—going about their business should be allowed to do
so and to enjoy that leisure activity. It is my belief that
they very much are able to do so without police involvement.
The vast majority of football fans who attend a football match
on a Saturday or Sunday or indeed a European game through the
week will never have an interaction with the police or, if they
do, it will be minimal. The vast majority of football fans get
to watch their team play without an interaction with the
police.
I disagree with ’s premise that there is
widespread concern. I do not know the last time that went to a football match but,
when I last went, nobody approached me to say that they had
major concerns relating to football, so I do not think that
concern is widespread at all.
described the filming of fans
at “a low-level friendly”. Is it his suggestion that there will
not be sectarian chanting just because a game happens to be a
low-level friendly? Police Scotland gave evidence to the
Justice Committee to say that filming of football fans helped
to gather evidence when there was sectarian singing; that is
the reason for doing that. Again, that is an operational matter
for Police Scotland.
On the issues that arose at the
Celtic v Rangers match, I believe that Celtic is planning an
independent review and has a consultant on board for that
review. Police Scotland has also said that it will review its
measures in relation to the incident that took place. I also
have concerns about that incident.
On ’s last point about informants
and the Sunday Herald article that he mentioned, I will just
quote one of the fans, who was not going by his own name. The
article states that one of the fans said that the police came
to his door—
The Deputy Presiding Officer:
I am sorry, cabinet secretary; I know how important this
is, but I have let you have a long go at it. Forgive me—you can
sit down for a minute—I appreciate that many on the front bench
are new to their positions, but they are giving very long
answers and I am not getting through many questions and
supplementaries. Could you be very brief now, please?
:
I will. That was the third point that was raised—I was
asked, in effect, three or four questions, and I am going
through each of them.
The quote from the football fan was
that the police
“were there wanting to know if there was
going to be any organised fights, or if there was going to be
groups of people travelling to certain places ... If I knew
that information, could I share it?”
That is hardly heavy-handed policing
tactics. Using human informants is regulated by the independent
Investigatory Powers Commissioner’s Office. If has any concerns, he can, of
course, raise them directly with IPCO.
