Firstly the right to freedom of speech is guaranteed under international law through numerous human rights instruments, notably under Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights, but what do these articles say? Well under international law, “restrictions on free speech are required to comport with a strict three part test: they must be provided by law, pursue an aim recognized as legitimate, and be necessary for the accomplishment of that aim”
So where does this leave us in relation to our traditional Rangers song. Firstly is it provided by law? Yes it is, In Scotland it would be illegal if it was racist or bigoted, can the word Fenian be classed as bigoted?, not when Celtic fans themselves use the term in so many of their folk songs, for example “Bold Fenian Men” a song positively deifying “the cause” or “The Fenians Escape” another ditty that uses the word as a form of hero worship in reference to escaping the slavery of Australia. So if the Tims use the word “fenian” in there own songs (and these are only two of many folk songs where it is used) then it cannot possibly be classed as bigoted!
Is it then legitimate to sing “Hello, hello”, well after ruling out the fact that the song is bigoted, the legitimacy is fairly obvious. Questions could be asked about the legitimacy of singing being up to our knees in blood, but this is no more than a battle cry, harking back to days of yore, Flower o' Scotland claims proudly that we defeated King Edward in battle, many other national anthems proclaim the virility of the land by recounting tales of battles and blood shed. This is after all a football match, it IS a battle.
And so finally is it necessary for the accomplishment of the aim? If our combined singing can inspire our team can give that little bit more in order to win the match then it certainly is necessary, what would football be without singing, fans shouting and terrace chants? We all know of the special atmosphere that is created at Ibrox on old firm games or European nights. No court in the world could deny that this is necessary; we need only look to the Inter Milan game behind closed doors to see how flat a game is without
the fans.
UEFA are looking to make an example of an “easy” target after years of criticism for their soft approach to violence in Turkey and racism across Europe. The danger is that a club from a “minor” nation like Scotland can easily be made a scapegoat for the sins of others; we cannot let ourselves be this target. Our democratic right in this country is that we can freely express ourselves, we turn up and support our team week in week out, we sing the songs that we learned from our fathers, UEFA, the SFA, FIFA or the Mhedia cannot and must not be allowed to take this away from us!
GATSBY