Two Andy Gorams

   
I listened to a succession of seemingly intelligent football fans make fools of themselves yesterday.

As they sought to portray new measures to stamp out sectarianism in football - as an attack on their civil liberties.

'Who is going to decide what's offensive and what's not?' - they asked disingenuously - as if they had all just come up on the Clyde on a bicycle.

One chap even had the gall to suggest that if you don't like to be offended - then you shouldn't go to football matches - the implication being that such behaviour goes with the territory.

Spare me all the mental gymnastics and logic chopping - I couldn't disagree more.

Because the only thing that distinguishes football from other sports is the sheer size of the crowd - and the difficulty in policing such large numbers of people.

But that doesn't give people a licence to behave badly or cause real offence - in ways that would quickly get them arrested - if they behaved that way in the street.

Nor is it hard to tell the difference between football fans setting out to cause real offence - and just having a laugh at the 'other side's expense.

Football banter can be really funny - sectarian behaviour is not.

I imagine that even Andy Goram - who broke more Celtic hearts than most Rangers players down the years - could manage a wry smile at the Celtic fans who used to chant:

'Two Andy Gorams, there's only two Andy Gorams!'

After the Rangers and Scotland goalkeeper had been diagnosed - with a mild form of schizophrenia.

Not only was it genuinely funny - but Andy Goram had the last laugh most of the time.

And I'm sure he took the view that he who laughs last - laughs longest.