We can learn from German anti-hate fight - minister

Rangers ground staff search for more glass after shards from a broken bottle were found in the Celtic penalty area

Scotland could learn lessons from German football's fight against anti-Semitism, sports minister Maree Todd has told BBC Scotland.

Her comments come after bottles were thrown at Sunday's Old Firm match at Ibrox and arrests made for sectarian behaviour.

A member of the Celtic staff needed stitches after being struck on the head by a glass bottle.

The first minister called some Rangers supporters "mindless" and "thuggish".

Now her sports minister is looking to the Bundesliga for inspiration in tackling the issue of sectarianism in particular.

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"I think it is still a problem - I think it's a problem in our society and it's a problem in football," said Ms Todd.

"I have met recently with representatives of Borussia Dortmund who have had an amazing programme where, from the grassroots up, they have looked to change their culture of anti-Semitism.

"Over 10 years they have had some real successes with that programme and they're now using it to tackle other equalities issues.

"They have had a problem in their city and in their football club and they've really turned it around."

She added: "You can imagine, for me as the Scottish government sports minister, that seems like a really attractive thing to find out more about."

Borussia Dortmund has worked hard to combat a neo-Nazi element within its support that peaked in the 1980s.

The club recently held a seminar on anti-Semitism in world soccer, outlining the steps the club took to engage with the support and turn around a far-right image.

Sports Minister Maree Todd said Scottish football could learn from steps taken to change fan culture in Germany

The former First Minister Jack McConnell once described sectarianism as Scotland's secret shame but despite campaigns inside and outside of football, the problem persists.

"Football is an amazing sport," said Maree Todd.

"It has a real power to do good in society because it's the biggest and most popular sport in Scotland - people love it.

"They can lead the way in society and lead the way in tackling society's ills and anything I can do to help football do that and to help achieve the power of football, I'll be doing."

Borussia Dortmund: From shame to example

Borussia Moenchengladbach and Borussia Dortmund players hold a sign against anti-Semitism before before a Bundesliga match

Last week Borussia Dortmund hosted a conference aimed at ending discrimination in football. It has come a long way.

In the 1980s, a right-wing movement was active within its fanbase. The club itself had a member of the Nazi party as its chairman in the 1930s.

Fans were known to chant about sending fans of rival clubs to Auschwitz.

But the last decade has seen the club tackle the blight head-on and it is now helping others to turn the tide of hate amongst supporters.

More than 100 representatives of German professional football joined Jewish community leaders at Borussia Dortmund's Signal Iduna Park to share insights on anti-hate projects and engagement with the Jewish community.

Last year the German football league (DFL) along with the DFL Members' Assembly and the 36 clubs of the Bundesliga and Bundesliga 2, unanimously decided to adopt the working definition of anti-Semitism of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance, opposing antisemitism in all its forms.

The incidents at the latest Old Firm match have led to renewed calls for football clubs to take more responsibility and adopt strict liability.

Strict liability would see clubs punished for the behaviour of fans inside stadia and could lead to ground closures or points being deducted.

Scottish football has always resisted the calls for its introduction but the sports minister said it's an option still being considered at government level.

"That would be a decision for the justice minister and from what I heard about what happened at the weekend, all options are still on the table.

"What happened was completely unacceptable and all options must be on the table in a bid to tackle it."