‘Absolute shambles’ - Hearts, Hibs and other Scottish football fans react to new Government proposals

It has been just over a week since the UK Government published the consultation document on “Guidelines for taking passengers to sporting events in Scotland” and the subsequent reaction has been far from positive.

In the new proposals, the Senior Traffic Commissioner requests the UK Government gives permission for buses to be unable to stop anywhere within 10 miles of the ground without police permission; for buses to be unable to stop at any pub for a beer unless it’s sold without a substantial meal as well as several other transport measures.

The changes have been proposed due to concerns that while the majority of football fans are well behaved, there is a concern that “incidents of football related violence and disorder do still occur and may be increasing”.

The guidelines are already in place in England and Wales and are said to have worked well but Scottish football’s leading bodies have expressed concern over the proposed changes, saying there is no evidence that there is a significant problem in Scottish football.

Following the announcement, here are some of the latest reactions as posted on X (formerly Twitter):

@ThatBoiRico: “This could honestly be a blessing in disguise. What an opportunity for ALL fans,of ALL clubs to come together and stand up against not only this,but all draconian measures against us. This isn’t about stopping hooliganism. This affects every single football fan in Scotland.”

@Deveron61Colin said: “These proposals apply all the way down to the Highland and Lowland league cups. I would doubt if the person who drew these proposals up knows where any highland or lowland league teams are based.”

@Stevros1988 said: “This has been the case in England for many years. It was draconian when it started and it still is.”

@ubergezza: “Absolute shambles. Football supporters again being targeted by the authorities for simply being football fans.”

@deb_111: “What is the Scottish Government’s take on this, coming from the UK government? Is this something being rolled out across the 4 nations or just Scotland?

@hambo22: “Surely these won’t be implemented...apart from anything it would be a nightmare to enforce.”

@scottylad2: “A substantial meal? I seem to remember a scotch egg qualified, scotch egg makers everywhere will be overjoyed”

@TomEwing14: “These are voluntary guidelines so non enforceable And are the same as in place in England for a number of years. Seems a waste of time to introduce given they have no powers attached. Police are not investigating some crimes now so not going to chase buses around the countryside!”

@KW_712: “This legislation stems a lot in the interpretation of ‘bus’ - How do bus companies define a ‘bus’? If it’s a vehicle that carries paying passengers then find an alt way to compensate the travel company - run a meter and call it a large private cab.”

@macca1875: “Probably a good 1-10% max revenue brought in from the Rugby sector over a sporting year in Scotland, even in a World Cup year. Still being dictated to from so called elitists. I have seen much worse behaviour swept under the carpet from rugby chaps”