At a game at Hampden some police officers pulled me out of the crowd because I in sync with the vast majority

of the Celtic support - was chanting Darren ODea s mashed a Hun [footage of the song here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cmr0PJQuCQ 4]. It was just my bad luck to be in the back row. After taking me away from the crowd, the police officers advised me that the son g was sectarian, to which I asked which denomination it referred to. They said t he term Hun was a derogatory term for Protestants, to which I explained the Huns p receded the Reformation by over 1000 years. Not keen on a history lesson, they said they would take my name and address and let me get back to the game. I asked why I should given that no crime had occurr ed, to which I was at once handcuffed and placed under arrest. I was then transported to a police station where I had to share a cell with two other prisoners for 19 hours. I was then transported to court, where I was held in various non-supervised, overcrowded holding cells - in which I saw people at tacked - for a further 12 hours. When I had a meeting with a lawyer at the court, I explained I was there for usi ng the word Hun. He thought that ridiculous and said there was no way the charge w ould stick. However, after the meeting, I received a charge sheet. It stated tha t I had repeatedly used the terms orange Hun and Rangers Hun (terms I have never hea rd used by a human being). I was genuinely shocked - here it was in black and white that words I had not us ed were added to my charge sheet, presumably to secure a conviction (given that H un alone would not). I pleaded not guilty, and was told that I was banned from attending all SPL game s until the case was resolved. I felt like I was being presumed guilty until pro ved innocent. However, the worst part of all this was the impact it could have on my career op tions. I was in my second year of a History degree, and intended to become a His tory teacher. I had no previous convictions whatsoever. Had I been found guilty, this career path (and many others) would be instantly closed to me - all becaus e a couple of police officers claimed I used the word orange in order to secure a conviction. Thats not to mention the effect all the stress had on my uni work it self. When it eventually came to court, the two police officers called as witnesses bo th claimed that I used the aforementioned terms as part of a song. Neither was a ble to specify any of the other words from the supposed song. Furthermore, the p rosecuting lawyer and officers could not show any evidence that my conduct was se vere enough to cause alarm to ordinary people and threaten serious disturbance t o the community. Namely, because it wasnt. The judge duly decided that the case was not proven. My own crude estimates would put the cost of this case in the thousands. And yet I continue to see people arrested for this offence, banned from football, their jobs and future put at risk, put under great stress, and yet eventually acquitt ed. I have yet to read of a single case whereby a Celtic supporter who pleads not guilty to breach of the peace aggravated by religious prejudice is found guilty. T here appears to be many instances of acquittal judging by the press and internet forums. To corroborate this anecdotal evidence I have submitted a FOI request to the Sco ttish Government to confirm how many of those Celtic supporters who have pled not

guilty to this offence in the past five years have been acquitted. I would also like to point out that I am not coming at this simply from the angl e of an aggrieved Celtic fan: I believe strongly in freedom of expression, and t hat the police harassment of football supporters exists amid a wider context of civil liberties being eroded in this country (jail sentences for jokes made on s ocial media websites, etc). The recent case of the Rangers fan being jailed for shouting F- the Pope sickened me, and I signed a petition for his release. The pol ice also have to justify the ridiculous new offensiveness laws. And the best w ay to do that is to say "look how many people we arrested for this - the law is therefore justified". I apologise for rambling, but I hope this provides just one example of how footb all fans are being victimised - at great cost to the taxpayer. If you need any c larification, or further info, just let me know.