john_M_F_C

There's been no suggestions around how to gain support for a repeal of the OBFA, and the wider issue of fan treatment.

Can you point to the singing of any offensive sectarian songs sang at Fir Park this season, by the 'Well Bois? the "rules" were brought in to tackle sectarian abuse. As it stands it's to tackle anything offensive, which again, there's not been anything offensive from the 'Well Bois. There's been individual incidents where individual Motherwell fans have acted in a way that might incite disorder, part of the act, but on the whole, the "rules" have been adhered to by those trying to change it. The problem here doesn't lie with the 'Bois, it's with the "holier than thou" folk, who seem incapable of a better solution to change things yet feel the need to call everybody else's "childlike".

As much as people want to blame Ripley, you play a back 4 there, everybody knows where they should be positioned, the boy doesn't find the space, and doesn't get the shot away with in the first place.

Mcghee sat down at the dugout after the goal sums things up for me, no passion, no desire. Time for him to go.

Ridiculous thread, Alan Burrows does works hard for the club, doing the day to day running. The big decisions seem to be made by this les character, and the board.

Yes, and no. They've essentially been told to make sure it doesn't happen again. The likelihood is that the situation won't happen again. Token gesture really.

Just so everybody is clear, we haven't been punished here.

well, it didn't answer anything, did it? Naive? because it's not the most popular answer? Good because they're of a similar opinion to yours? It's a shame that most of the talk on here's been about our choice to jointly protest on a fan issue, with a similar fan group, not the issue itself. There's been pages worth about it, yet, there was next to nothing noted when we staged our own protest against Partick Thistle. I get that people are annoyed we'd work with the Green Brigade, but nobody even took notice when we tried to do it on our own. It's maybe easy to suggest now, but, if our support wasn't happy about us working with outsiders, then perhaps it would be beneficial for us all, that we do get behind fan issues more, as a wider support?

Can't come back on content, boils it down to a self righteous comment about age... Come back to me on the offensive behaviour at football act.

Because of intolerance. Personally I wouldn't want people supporting an extremist islamic group to get the jail either. You don't change peoples views, no matter how repulsive they are, by making them illegal. It pushes them further underground, and further entrenches people. The green brigade's views are going to be repulsive to some, I fully understand that, but we can't let a political class dictate what is right or wrong. or in the case of the bill, where you can be more wrong, that's verging on the totalitarian groups like al Quieda and ISIS. You're wrong on the count that the bill is getting people arrested for things that are already illegal, but certainly convictions for it have all been for things that were already illegal. You're right on the burden of proof though, it makes it very easy to get arrested now, as the police only need to say that your actions may have offended any right minded person, or that they could have caused disorder, even if measures were in place to prevent disorder. That isn't right. The bill helps perpetuate the notion that we, as football fans, are all working class yobs, that drink, fight and offend, as we all know, that's far from the truth. It suits a political agenda that makes football fans look loutish, and it suits the police to collect extra money to make us look like apes. It doesn't matter what else we as Motherwell fans stand for, we should be standing against this act of parliament.

Why would you want folk to get the jail for singing songs?

Without wanting to defend the green brigade, I'm very glad we don't get the treatment they get. The level of policing they get is mental, all for singing songs that some folk don't agree with.

Obviously calling folk bed wetters was a bit much, purely out of frustration. It is fairly frustrating, the point of Saturday was to raise eyebrows, and make people see that this issue was big enough for two opposing groups to put their own differences aside for a couple of minutes.

The point I was making is, that with so few people agreeing with anything they stand for, they all seem to have a fair idea of what they're all about, seems to be a lot of empathy with people that seem to be ideologically opposed to a lot of posters on here. Most of the folk in the section can't be bothered with this site, rightly so, full of bed wetters.

Weird that everybody has an insight into the Green Brigade's motivation, yet seem to find them utterly repulsive, what's going on there? bit odd.

FAC haven't put much out about it, the word on that seems to have came from accies fans, posting on twitter. I believe it was on the way to the ground that the boys were lifted. That's all the parts of the story that I'm aware of. Herald and evening times ran with it online last night, don't know if it's made any printed editions yet. Banner went up about it, banners about it increasingly difficult too, grey area when it's seen as a "political messages" therefore, banned.

We've lettered MSP's before, FAC have taken a petition to parliament on the matter too. In terms of playing the issue politically, it's very difficult, every major party, opposes the act, all but the SNP. With SNP support as high as its been, and on course for another majority in parliament, it becomes very difficult to fight against. No government wants to repeal their own law, because then it looks like they've made an arse of something. It's also very hard to lobby support against something which is perceived to be tackling sectarianism, as it looks like you're trying to defend the indefensible.

No press coverage, mainly reported on twitter and through meetings with those involved with FAC, fine between the two alleged to have been £2500. This is't about acting like a dick, it's about freedom of speech and expression, as mellow-dramatic as that sounds. Acting the dick is one thing, but this law is getting folk into trouble for doing very little wrong, take celtic out the equation, as a motherwell fan, are you offended by somebody singing "well, well, fuck yer well" and do you think that's worthy of being fined a 4 figure sum? The problem is with this law is that nobody really knows if you're breaking it or not, entering the field of play, fighting, using pyro, that's pretty black and white, but, we're talking about people getting arrested for their words or songs now, which is a dangerous place to be. Hardly jumped into bed with the green brigade but, we hate them, they hate us, we're hardly going up the gallowgate with them, blasting the rebs, and skudding pints of guiness. We'd have done it with Rangers, Dundee United, Aberdeen, anybody.

Ourselves, involved in the Heavy Hands Empty Stands campaign would like to see the act abolished. The FAC group, initially a Celtic group, but branching out to other clubs, would also like to see the same. There's existing legislation in place to prevent racism and sectarianism, it should be used. The act makes it easier to convict people on the basis that what ever is said, or gestured, could have caused disorder. The Hamilton fans, for me, is the best example of how dangerous this legislation is, a couple of young lads have now got criminal records and had to pay 4 figure fines, essentially, for saying "fuck".

Interesting responses here, hardly stood shoulder to shoulder with the Green Brigade, done a joint action on a specific issue affecting both groups, doesn't make us pals all of a sudden, we hate them, they hate us, but, unlike almost everybody on here, we can see the bigger picture. The bill needs opposed, poor stewarding and policing needs highlighting. Continuing to highlight such issues purely from inside our own clubs bubble doesn't work. On this issue, unfortunately, we have to side with people that might make some uncomfortable.

It's hardly warranted? the odd smokebomb, yes that's crossing the line, but is the levels of policing and the style of policing/stewarding justified? no, absolutely not. The problem here, is rubbish legislation, allied with a football specific police unit, that's backed up by its ability to arrest rather than convict. No helping the situation is the stewards, who think they're hard men, wading in and realising they aren't dealing with wee boys, and end up having to have the police bail them out of their own mistakes. The legislation could see you arrested, for pretty much anything, so it's a cause worth fighting. Grow up.

Why? Putting differences aside to highlight a bigger issue, and a common enemy? The sad fact is, the well bois had no other option than to side with the green brigade over this. The police/SNP want this issue to be one of division, they don't want fans to be united in opposition to what is, terrible legislation and an attack on freedom of speech. If football fans cannot defend themselves, and put differences and club allegiances aside, then whats the point? we'll continue to get shafted by police/stewards/legislation. Put the petty rivalries aside and the underlying bigotry, siding with the green brigade is what needed to happen, for the bigger picture. I don't think it's going to mean that the bois will be down the gallowgate now, singing the rebs and tanking guiness. It was for a minute or so in a game, to highlight that something must change.

What a waste of resources, the boy done no harm in the slightest.

Mate, yer a fucking bed wetter. Children? Come up to the older Well Bois one game, ask us about being children, we can tell you about all being in our mid 20's, having other commitments at times, which means it's a struggle for us to build the atmosphere every game(that's trying to address the "where are we?" type comments)/

Mate, you're a bed wetter. There's more pressing issues than the relitavely good behaviour of our fans yesterday.