Strict liability when playing to gallery

Being responsible is not always easy, especially when it comes to running a football club, where playing to the gallery offers vastly better short-term returns, and no doubt a rush of endorphins.

If your fans are engaged in an activity which regularly brings them to the attention of the courts, and your club into disrepute, it doesn’t matter what you think of the apparent offense.  You may chant an offending song in the shower every morning month, but your only public comment on the matter can be to chastise and urge fans to desist.

Clubs in Scotland voted against what is known as strict liability.  This means they are not held responsible for transgressions by their fans – and who wants to be held responsible for the actions of others who protected from personal liability by hiding in a crowd.

Part of the deal on not having strict liability is that clubs must demonstrate that they take all steps necessary to dissuade and educate their fans from carrying out criminal or regulatory offenses.  It’s simply not possible for club to tell fans their illegal actions were justified, as this would place the club itself in the firing line.

The nonsense following the Scottish Cup final is all background noise as far as we are concerned, but be aware the contagion will spread beyond those you could consider highly dysfunctional operators.

Solving Kids Cancer in memory of Oscar Knox

Our own Bundoran Bhoy will run the Edinburgh Marathon on Sunday on behalf of Solving Kids Cancer.  He has put in an enormous amount of work ahead of the event, for a cause which you are only too familiar with.

26 miles is a long way to run.  You can give him some encouragement on his Just Giving page.

Good luck, Tommy.