Public given chance to voice concerns about law meant to combat sectarian abuse in football

A meeting to discuss the Offensive Behaviour at Football and Threatening Communications (Scotland) Act 2012 will be held next week.

The group Fans Against Criminalisation (FAC) said the meeting will allow people to contest the erosion of people’s civil rights.

An FAC spokesman said: “Speakers will be announced soon but this is an opportunity for those affected to tell their story and to unite around what appears to be a gradual erosion of the civil rights of one group at a time.”

Over 6,000 people in one month have lent their support to a campaign seeking to scrap the law on the basis it is “fundamentally illiberal and unnecessarily restricts freedom of expression”.

Celtic have said parts of the act should be repealed.

A spokesperson for the club said: “We believe the act has the potential to discriminate against football supporters.”

Researchers at Stirling University are due to publish findings into how the law is operating in August.