Image source, bbc

Danny Boyle from Bemis says he used to work for the Irish Heritage Foundation.

Mr Boyle says being a lay Catholic person makes him probably the most likely to be a victim under the Act.

He says the Irish Heritage Foundation did not support the Offensive Behaviour at Football and Threatening Behaviour Act.

Sacro's Tom Halpin says there appears to be more robust enforcement at football games but he says there is no reason that could not have been the case with existing legislation.

Mr Halpin says there was confusion amongst the police at the beginning.

He says: "I do think the Act has raised it in everyone's consciousness."

Mr Halpin says the low level of prosecution and referral is a concerns.

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Labour MSP Mary Fee says she understands the Act gives the perception that it is safer for LGBT people attending games but asks whether there is evidence they use the Act to report incidents.

Colin Macfarlane from Stonewall Scotland says no and adds there is still work to be done.

He says the Act does make LGBT people feel confident and safe.

Sandy Riach from the Scottish Disabled Supporters' Association says there needs to be something in place.

Mr Riach says there is more work to be done on this issue.

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Danny Boyle from BEMIS says from a race equality perspective the Act creates very specific problems.

Stonewall Scotland's Colin Macfarlane says there has been a shift in the work being done with clubs, for example through the Rainbow Laces campaign.

Mr Macfarlane reiterates: "Don't repeal the Act until there is something in its place."

He says any replacement could be looked at after the Lord Bracadale review into hate crime.

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Colin Macfarlane says Stonewall Scotland still believe in the principles of the Offensive Behaviour at Football and Threatening Behaviour Act.

Mr Macfarlane says LGBT people need to know they are safe when they go to football matches.

He says as a child he used every excuse possible not to attend football matches with his father due to the language on the terraces, which terrified him.

Mr Macfarlane says repealing the Act would send the wrong message to people who go to football matches.

Brian Taylor
BBC Scotland Political Editor

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And so parliament has voted against the Offensive Behaviour at Football and Threatening Communications Act.

MSPs reached this conclusion after a heated and occasionally acrimonious debate which, nevertheless, contrived to stay short of offensive or threatening mode.

Remember the Act? It criminalised sectarian and other offensive behaviour linked to football which is likely to cause public disorder.

When enacted four years ago, it also outlawed threats of serious harm and communications intended to incite religious hatred, including such comments when posted online.

There was much talk in the debate of "sending signals". Now, one might question whether the criminal law - as exercised in Scotland's judicial system - is a fitting vehicle for the despatch of signals.

But it remains a salient point. Labour's James Kelly - who has pressed most vigorously for repeal - argues that you do not send messages against sectarianism by criminalising one section of society: football fans, generally young men under the age of 20.

Read more here.

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Colin Macfarlane from Stonewall Scotland says LGBT people tell his organisation the Act gives them confidence to attend games.

Danny Boyle from BEMIS says the danger of the legislation is that it rides on the back of tackling hate crime but the majority of charges are not for hate crime.

Mr Boyle says there is a shared aspiration to tackle hate crime across the board.

He says: "This piece of legislation is not achieving that."

Community Safety Minister Annabelle Ewing said: "This government stands on the side of the many tens of thousands of football supporters who want to enjoy watching our national game with family and friends in an atmosphere that is not tainted by offensive, abusive and prejudicial behaviour.

"Threatening and offensive behaviour associated with football continues to be a problem in Scotland and a key job of government is to provide police and prosecutors with the powers to tackle it."

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Ms Ewing said the Act had been used 377 times in 2016/17 to "deal with actions that the vast majority of football fans, and the wider public, consider unacceptable".

The minister said: "Repealing it in the absence of a viable alternative ‎demonstrates contempt for those targeted.

"We have also commissioned an independent review of all hate crime legislation in Scotland, to report early next year. The review is intended to ensure Scotland's hate crime laws remain adequate, appropriate and fit for the 21st century."

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Lib Dem MSP Liam McArthur asks if protections could not be better provided through repeal of the football act.

Mr McArthur says the legislation does not provide the necessary protection.

Colin Macfarlane from Stonewall Scotland says it is the symbolic element of the Act and the signal that it sends.

Mr Macfarlane says he is not saying the Act is perfect but getting rid of it and putting nothing in its place is the issue.

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In June Mr Kelly, the MSP behind the Offensive Behaviour at Football and Threatening Behaviour Act, said he was confident that next season would be the last one with the legislation in place.

He added: "Every other party opposed it. Academics, lawyers, football clubs and football fans opposed it, yet the SNP wouldn't listen and used its majority in the Scottish Parliament to railroad the Football Act through."

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Assistant Chief Constable Bernard Higgins from Police Scotland, told the committee before the break, that there were 42 professional clubs in Scotland and 24 have been charged under the Act.

Anthony McGeehan from the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service outlines some statistics relating to charges reported and action taken:

• 2012-13 267 charges reported and no action taken in three
• 2013-14 206 charges reported and no action taken in 16
• 2014-15 193 charges reported and no action taken in four
• 2015-16 286 charges reported and no action taken in 14
• 2016-17 377 charges reported and no action taken in seven

Danny Boyle from the Black and Ethnic Minority Infrastructure in Scotland says the football act has led to polarisation.

Mr Boyle says the Act places police officers in a very precarious position.

SNP MSP Rona Mackay says that is not what the police said to the committee.

Colin Macfarlane from Stonewall Scotland disagrees with Mr Boyle that there is polarisation due to the Act.

He says there are areas for improvement in the legislation.

Mr Macfarlane says: "If it goes and there is nothing in its place that is our big worry."

Since 2012, the number of charges reported to the Procurator Fiscal under the Offensive Behaviour at Football and Threatening Communications (Scotland) Act 2012 is shown as follows:

Image source, Scottish Parliament/Police Scotland

In respect of convictions where the main charge was under Section 1 of the Act, COPFS have published the conviction rates as follows:

Image source, Scottish Parliament/Police Scotland

Tom Halpin from Sacro says taking away a person's football season ticket does not tackle hatred.

Mr Halpin says there is other legislation there that would cover the gap if the Act was not there.

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Danny Boyle from the Black and Ethnic Minority Infrastructure in Scotland says there is a lack of clarity about the motives behind hate crime.

Mr Boyle says the Offensive Behaviour at Football and Threatening Behaviour Act further clouds this ambiguity.

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Hate crime legislation in Scotland is being reviewed by the High Court judge, externalLord Bracadale who said he hoped to ensure legislation was fit for the 21st Century.

He has been asked to consider whether current laws are fit for purpose and if new categories of hate crime, such as age and gender, should be created.

The judge has published a consultation paper and requested responses by November.

He said: "Hate crime legislation is a key way in which our society recognises the impact that hate crime can have on victims and our communities.

"Since I was appointed by Scottish ministers to review hate crime legislation, I have deliberately spent time listening to victims and representatives of communities affected by hate crime, as well as those who work in the criminal justice system."