The Scottish backstop

I read with interest that Mr Allan McGregor has decided to retire from international duty.

Again…

Indeed, the current manager stated that the decision came as a surprise to him given the short notice.

I think that the Scottish national team is rather well off for good goalkeepers at present.

Therefore, I’m sure that the ex-manager of EBT FC took the news with his customary unsurpassed dignity.

However, there are other more pressing matters on the national game in fair Caledonia.

In recent weeks there have been several incidents where players have been endangered by spectators.

The attack on Jack Grealish at the weekend has focused minds of many on the safety of footballers at their place of work.

Of course, this is not a new development on Planet Fitba and no club is immune from this disorder.

It is undeniable that such crimes, for that is what they are, strengthen the calls for Strict Liability to be introduced into domestic football.

The strange death of the Offensive Behaviour at Football and Threatening Communications (Scotland) Act 2012 should be a chastening experience of the legislators in Holyrood.

Quite simply, they were keen to be seen to be “doing something”.

The act itself was unjust and unworkable.

Long before it was thought of there were laws on the statute book to deal with chaps such as Mr William walls or Mr David Limond.

The OBFTCA (2012) sought to frame the law around the concept of something being “offensive”.

However, people can take offence on the basis of prejudice that in itself is illegal.

The senior law officer in Scotland Frank Mulholland admitted that the act had effectively criminalised some political expression of Irishness.

One Scotland many cultures?

As I stated, the law was unjust and unworkable and the grassroots campaigners who fought against it had right on their side.

I did not grieve the demise of this Orwellian law.

Regular readers will know of my views on the seat breaking community and the pyrotechnic fraternity.

Once more, their behaviour is criminal.

In UEFA matches sanctions are delivered on clubs for the behaviour of a tiny minority of supporters or sometimes just a single individual.

If Strict Liability is introduced into domestic games and it focusses solely on health and safety matters then it could garner greater support.

Of course, the elephant in the room is not the law but who would be enforcing it.

For the avoidance of doubt, the national game was effectively rigged for an entire decade by the participation of EBT FC.

Indeed, the current Scotland manager was a beneficiary of the scheme.

The  EBT scam at Rangers could only operate because players were…ahem…“ imperfectly registered”.

It was a massive failure of oversight from the authorities at Hampden.

Therefore, given that forensic fact then the application of Strict Liability in domestic games could be concerning for some.

An organisation that employed the late Jim Farry and had Hugh Dallas as the head of refereeing still has some bridges to build.

The experience of the EBT decade and the attempts to parachute Sevco Scotland Limited into the SPL in the summer of 2012 suggested that the idea of Ibrox exceptionalism had some basis in fact.

Moreover, the issue of the granting of a UEFA licence to Rangers for season 2011-2012 remains outstanding despite a strong prima facie case based on sworn evidence in the Craig Whyte trial.

It is within that paradigm that the concerns around Strict Liability should be viewed.

Those who are advocating this rule change simpliciter are offering amnesia rather than an analysis.

It is not the concept itself but rather doubts over the application of the rules that is the issue for some.

The decision by current Sevco netminder to retire from international football is entirely a matter for himself.

What should concern all of us on Planet Fitba is to have fair and impartial governance for all.

It is the perception of fairness that should be concentrating minds on the 6^th floor at Hampden as they consider a new initiative.

Indeed, they should be guided by the words of the late great Turnbull Hutton on the steps of the national stadium in 2012.

When I was at his funeral Mr Neil Doncaster sat beside me at the service.

I had Turnbull’s unmistakable voice inside my head telling me what to say to the Hampden chap.

I later shared this with some Raith Rovers folk that day and we all laughed.

It got me through the grief of the occasion.

If the man from Fife was in front of me now I couldn’t say with any degree of conviction that what he saw as the problem at Hampden has been truly expunged.

Regulatory alignment with Europe is fine and well, but there is a need for a guarantee of fairness.

If not then there will remain a hard border on Planet Fitba.