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Fans v Bigots
24/11/2007
This weekend sees a ground-breaking Weekend of Action (November 24-25) against bigotry in football.
First Minister Alex Salmond and a number of his cabinet colleagues will stand together with supporters of Scottish Premier League clubs to oppose prejudice and hatred of all kinds, but particularly religious sectarianism.
The event, organised by charity Football For All, is part of the Kick Out Bigotry campaign, which aims to build on the significant progress made in recent years to make bigoted behaviour a thing of the past.
The campaign was launched on Tuesday, November 20, at Glasgow's Hampden Park stadium, where the First Minister and representatives of all 12 clubs in the SPL signed a pledge to Kick Out Bigotry from Scotland's national sport. The Weekend of Action will reinforce the commitment made by all the parties involved.
Stewart Maxwell, Minister for Communities and Sport, said:
"It gives me great pleasure to join with Aberdeen and Celtic fans in showing a united front against bigotry - in all its forms. It can be all too easy to turn a blind eye to the small minority who display open prejudice, but by taking an active stand and making it clear we find it unacceptable, we can help kick out bigotry from the terraces and our communities.
"In Scotland, we've come a long way in tackling many forms of bigotry in football, from racism and homophobia to religious sectarianism and that can be put down to hard work from a number of partners including government, police forces, voluntary groups and of course, football clubs themselves . But we haven't won yet, so that's why this Weekend of Action is so important as a statement of intent - showing how determined we all are to eliminate bigotry once and for all."
Football For All Campaign Director Roddy McNulty added:
"Football For All is delighted to receive this vote of confidence from Scotland's top politicians as part of this united campaign to kick-out bigotry. The overwhelming majority of football supporters have had enough of the sectarianism and religious hatred associated with Scottish football. Supporters organisations across the country will be demonstrating that today through locally-organised events which back the players' action before kick-off."
SPL matches to be attended by Scottish Government Ministers:
24 November
Falkirk v Rangers - Cabinet Secretary for Public Health & Wellbeing, Nicola Sturgeon
Hibernian v Dundee Utd - Cabinet Secretary for Justice, Kenny MacAskill
Celtic v Aberdeen - Minister for Communities and Sport, Stewart Maxwell
Kilmarnock v Motherwell - Minister for Children and Early, Years Adam Ingram
25 November
Gretna v Hearts - Minister for Europe, External Affairs and Culture, Linda Fabiani