On the 19th June 2009, the Appeal Court of the High Court of Judiciary upheld a conviction against William Walls who had previously been found guilty of breach of the peace, aggravated by religious and racial prejudice, at Kilmarnock Sheriff Court in December – for singing/chanting ‘fuck the Pope’, ‘fenian bastards’ and the Famine Song.

The Appeal Court ruled that the term ‘Fenian Bastards’ was ‘either an expression of religious prejudice or racial bigotry or both’. Walls had also been signing the refrain from the Famine Song.

In their written judgement the judges said: “The song calls upon persons of Irish descent, who are living in Scotland, to go back to the land of their ancestors, namely Ireland. The Court does not consider that the lyrics of this refrain bear any reasonable comparison to those of "Flower of Scotland" or indeed "God Save the Queen". Rather they are racist in calling upon people native to Scotland to leave the country because of their racial origins. This is a sentiment which, once more, many persons will find offensive.”

The judges went on: “The Court also has no difficulty in accepting the Sheriff's conclusion that singing the refrain from the "Famine Song" and referring to persons as "Fenian Bastards" displays malice and ill-will towards people of Irish descent living in Scotland. In the context of a football fanatic, such as the appellant, who has presumably attended other Rangers' matches where this song has been sung, even if he did not know all the words to all the verses, he would be well acquainted with their general import and sentiment.”

The Appeal Court supported the sheriff’s ruling that Walls was guilty of a racially aggravated breach of the peace.

SFA/SPL
SFA / SPL regulations starting season 2007/2008. The SFA and SPL introduced Guidance for Clubs designed to prevent incidents which involve unacceptable conduct at stadia in Scotland. Clubs must ensure that relevant policies have been adopted to prevent such behaviour and that where such incidents do occur they are dealt with effectively. Each club has a responsibility for the conduct of players, officials and supporters as well as other persons connected with the club.

The Police control the stadium operation however to achieve compliance with the new guidance the club must conform with a lengthy checklist of conditions indicating that the club will not tolerate any form of unacceptable behaviour. It must also proactively raise awareness of the campaign to eliminate unacceptable conduct and take action against those who engage in such behaviour.

The SPL considered taking action against the Club in regard to sectarian singing by supporters at Inverness at the opening game of the 2008-09 season. The club successfully challenged proposed sanctions after proving that the club had taken all reasonable steps to ensure appropriate behaviour, not that the offensive singing and chanting did not take place. Again, the Club was warned about potential consequences of inappropriate behaviour by fans in the future.