Chris Sutton has not held back in his critique of Ally McCoist’s recent comments regarding the new hate crime legislation in Scotland, labelling them as “reckless and irresponsible.”
McCoist stirred controversy on talkSPORT by claiming that he and 48,000 Rangers fans would be in breach of the Hate Crime and Public Order (Scotland) Act during the upcoming Glasgow Derby against Celtic.
The act aims to combat stirring up hatred on various grounds including religion and sexual orientation.
Sutton took to the Daily Mail’s It’s All Kicking Off podcast to express his dismay at McCoist’s remarks.
The former Celtic striker suggested that although McCoist’s comments could have been made in jest, they were nonetheless ill-advised and harmful.
Sutton said: “He left himself wide open, you know, saying that he along with 48,000 will be committing a breach of the bill in that fixture.
“Look, I know Ally well, I’ve worked with Ally a lot. I suspect that his comments may have well been tongue-in-cheek. But if they weren’t, then got to say they were pretty reckless, irresponsible comments. Daft. I think his choice of words was clumsy.
“He’s come out now and said that he’s not going to the game which may have not sort of got him out of it, but his way of getting out of the words which he used. He will have to address this one, I thought his comments were slightly odd in truth.”
As the dust settles on this latest media storm, the focus now shifts to the impact of McCoist’s words and the broader conversation about hate crimes in football. This episode serves as a reminder of the power of words, especially when spoken by individuals with significant public influence.
