Last season racism reared its head again in Scottish football. St Johnstone’s Trinidad and Tobago international, Jason Scotland, was subjected to monkey-chanting by so-called supporters in the Scottish Cup quarter-final between Motherwell and St Johnstone at Motherwell’s Fir Park Stadium on February 28^th. “It was a great embarrassment to the club and we took very very strong steps,” says Russell Rodger, General Manager of Motherwell FC. “Racist outbursts do not form part of our community. We put in place a very very strong plan to correct that impression.”^1f

Motherwell chose to reduce prices for the match in order to encourage fans to come. All seats were the same price. People who would not normally have been in the main stand were there that day. It was a decision that would backfire. A group of twelve people monkey-chanted Scotland in the first half. Motherwell fans told them to shut up. They did so. Stewards and police were alerted, but it was too late. The racists left early. St Johnstone won the match 2-1 and fittingly Scotland netted the winner. “To be fair I really didn’t take it on, I was just playing my normal game,” said Mr Scotland at the time. “I probably heard it, but I didn’t really pay any attention, but the best way to react is with that goal and to let my football do the talking.”

While, Scotland adopted a dignified and low key approach to the incident, Motherwell was shocked and embarrassed by it. John Boyle – owner of Motherwell – issued a statement quickly condemning the racist abuse which showed that Motherwell was taking the incident very seriously. “These people should never show their faces at Fir Park again and they have no place in football,” said Mr Boyle. “We are utterly appalled by this behaviour by a small group of people who have tarnished the name of our club. We are writing to Jason Scotland and St Johnstone today to apologise for this disgusting behaviour which is totally alien to all of us at Motherwell. We pride ourselves on being a family club which welcomes everyone to Fir Park. The police and stewards took what action they thought appropriate at the time. We are making further enquiries today to see if we can identify those involved in order to take action against them. We are appealing to our own supporters to help identify the culprits. I would be stunned if they are season ticket holders as there has been no evidence of this kind of behaviour in the past. We wish Jason Scotland and his team all the best in the Cup. We are sorry if it was soured by the actions of a few idiots.”

Motherwell supporters echoed the club’s stance. “We are united with the club in condemning this repugnant behaviour in the strongest possible terms,” said Martin Rose, Chairman of Motherwell Supporters’ Trust, at the time. “I was in the main stand and raised the matter immediately with the match commander. Thankfully, it was nipped in the bud quickly by decent Motherwell fans, stewards and the police.”

It was clear that Motherwell was embarrassed by the incident. The club quickly announced that if the perpetrators were found to be season ticket holders they would be stripped of them and banned for life. So why did this happen at Motherwell? Are there any clues in the history of the place?

Approximately fifteen miles from Glasgow is the town of Motherwell. It was founded in the thirteenth century, but didn’t get its current name until the eighteenth century. There are different explanations for the origin of the name of Motherwell and it is unlikely that the matter will ever be settled conclusively. Perhaps the most famous landmark in the town is Dalzell House, which was recently renovated and converted into private flats. It was built in the fourteenth century, almost certainly as a defensive structure to ward off invaders during turbulent times. The original tower-house had a defensive wall surrounding it along with a moat. In the fifteenth century other buildings sprang up around it, giving it the complex structure it now boasts. The land originally belonged to the Dalzell family. They built the castle, hence its name. Their family history makes interesting reading as do the macabre tales that accompany many castles. Dalzell House is no different.

Hugo de Dalzell was the first Dalzell to be recorded in the history of Motherwell in the times of William Wallace. He was Sheriff of Lanark. In 1298 Thomas de Dalzell paid homage to Edward I, but subsequently defected to the cause of Robert The Bruce and fought with the future Scottish King at the Battle of Bannockburn in 1314. Goodwill between the new Scottish monarchy and Dalzell family was soon forgotten as the family’s estate was forfeited on order of the monarch, because Thomas’ son Robert absented himself from the country without the King’s permission. The estate changed hands many times before it returned to the Dalzell family by marriage – a connection that linked the Dalzell family to the Scottish monarchy. However, in this case water would prove thicker than blood.

In 1628 Robert Dalzell was ennobled. He served on the King’s Council in 1638 and was later given the title of Earl of Carnworth, among others. His son Robert, later to become the second Earl of Carnworth, obtained a charter in 1635 to bring the lands of the Dalzell family under the title of the Barony of Dalzell. In 1641 he was appointed a Privy Councillor. It would prove the highpoint for him and the Dalzell family. Two years later he was accused of traducing Parliament in the King’s presence. He ignored the order to appear before Parliament and received a fine of 10,000 Scots Merks.² In February 1645 he was convicted of treason and sentenced to be hanged, but the sentence was commuted to loss of rank, lands and titles, which passed to his son Gavin. He was also fined 100,000 Scots Merks. Gavin had no option but to sell various lands which included Dalzell House to his cousin James Hamilton of Boiges, the second son John Hamilton IV of Orbiston in 1647, to pay his father’s fine.

Hamilton was descended from the Dukes of Hamilton and Abercorn. Their family history was not as controversial as that of the Dalzells. John Hamilton III of Orbiston fell at the Battle of Langside on May 14^th 1568, fighting for Mary Queen of Scots. The Hamiltons were academics and businessmen before the term was invented. James Hamilton amassed a fortune trading with and supplying the army during the Cromwellian wars. In 1825 Archibald James Hamilton established a commune on Dalzell lands. Known by locals as ‘Babylon,’ it lasted just two years. John Glencairn Carter Hamilton was awarded the title Baron Hamilton of Dalzell in 1886.

Dalzell House was no stranger to royal visits at this time and William Gladstone stayed there in 1879. The Hamiltons began renovations to Dalzell House in 1649. It was extended and renovated again in the 1860s. The work was entrusted to the architect Robert Billings, who took four years to complete his task, but certainly made his mark. His carvings in the interior were said to be of peerless beauty. Suffice to say Dalzell House is steeped in history and remains a tourist attraction of sorts, even though it has been converted into private residences. But there is more to Motherwell than Dalzell House.

By the end of the eighteenth century Motherwell was a town built on agriculture and weaving. Within forty years industrialisation would come to the town and iron-making expertise was much in demand. It became the steel-making capital of Scotland, which explains the football club’s nickname ‘The Steelmen.’ The decline of steel-making culminated in 1992 with the closure of the Ravenscraig plant. It brought high unemployment to the town. New businesses, especially call centres, replaced the traditional sources of employment, but what about racism? Motherwell recently accepted refugees from the war in the Congo, who had escaped to Zambia. Under a United Nations programme, several Congoleses citizens who fled the fighting in their homeland were given refugee status and were settled in Motherwell. They were made welcome. Not only is there no history of racism thriving in Motherwell, but the evidence suggests that the opposite is true. Is the same true of the football club?

Two local amateur teams – Glencairn FC and Alpha FC – merged to for Motherwell FC in May 1886.³ They beat Hamilton Academicals 3-2 in their first match. They have a loyal, but small fan-base due to their proximity to the Glasgow giants Celtic and Rangers. On March 25^th an event took place at Fir Park which celebrated the history of this plucky club that has tasted ultimate success in its past. Two Motherwell teams were honoured with special awards. They were the teams of 1930-31 and 1951-52. Motherwell won the league title in the season of 1930-31. They were the first team to break up the Celtic-Rangers duopoly since 1904. The 1951-52 team won the Scottish Cup. That award was received by a member of that team, Charlie Cox.

Other awards included the best ever Motherwell goal. That honour was given to Colin O’Neill for a stunning forty-yard strike against Celtic in the semi final of the Scottish Cup in 1991. Tom Boyd was voted the club’s greatest ever captain, but didn’t make it into the club’s best eleven. Tommy McLean received the award of best manager for his spell in charge in the late 80s to early 90s. Steve Kirk was chosen as Motherwell’s cult hero, but didn’t make it into the fans’ choice of Motherwell’s all time team. David Lindsay was voted Motherwell’s greatest fan for his seventy-five years of support.

The fans selected their best ever Motherwell eleven. They were goalkeeper Ally, Maxwell, full back Davie Whiteford, left back Joe Wark, right half Charlie Aitken, centre half Andy Paton, left half Bert McCann, wingers John Gahagan and Davie Cooper, and forwards Dougie Arnott, Ian St John, and Willie Pettigrew. But Motherwell supporters reserved their greatest honour for Andy Paton, who was selected as the club’s greatest ever player. Paton captained the 1950 Scottish League Cup winning team and played a major role in Motherwell’s run to the Scottish Cup final of 1952, which they won 4-0. He only won three Scotland caps – a fact that still perplexes Motherwell fans. Paton joined Motherwell in 1942, leaving on free transfer in 1958 for Hamilton Academicals. He became their manager and led them to promotion to the First Division in 1965. He retired two years later. Paton accepted the award in person, describing it as the ‘greatest day of his life, not just in football.’

Although Motherwell is a small club and starved of success when compared to the Old Firm, it is not a club that has never tasted success. Motherwell had to move grounds a few times before Lord Hamilton leased land in Fir Park, part of the Dalzell estate, to the club in 1895. Motherwell has remained at Fir Park for over a century. The club was a stranger to success for the first forty years of its existence. The season of 1926-27 ushered in the most successful period in Motherwell’s history – finishing in the top three for seven consecutive seasons. This included winning the First Division title in the 1931-32 season. That team boasted the top scorer in Scotland Willie MacFadyen, who netted an impressive fifty-two goals. 1931, 1933 and 1939 saw appearances in the Scottish Cup Final, all of which ended in defeat.

Motherwell had to wait until 1950 to add to its solitary piece of silverware. They defeated Hibernian 3-0 in the final of the Scottish League Cup under the captaincy of their best ever player. It proved the spring-board to further success. In 1952 Motherwell proved that it was fourth time lucky in the Scottish Cup by trouncing Dundee 4-0 at Hampden Park. In 1955 Bobby Ancell took over and older players were phased out, culminating in Paton’s departure in 1958. The Ancell Babes, as they were known, failed to add to the silverware. It would prove to be a long wait with more lows than highs along the way. The lowest point was relegation in 1968. The club returned in style as champions of the Second Division at the first attempt.

The club’s greatest manager Tommy McLean joined Motherwell in 1984. It proved to be an inspired choice as McLean would end the trophy drought in 1991. It was a memorable match that Motherwell won 4-3 against Dundee United in extra time. Sadly, the departure of many players during the off-season forced McLean into rebuilding. Motherwell failed to win a single match before Christmas in the 1991-92 season. McLean added to his squad and Motherwell miraculously avoided relegation. He led the club to third place in the season of 1993-94 before moving on.

Motherwell finished second in the league the following season, but further success eluded the club. Managers came and went and John Boyle bought the club. High spending led to neither success, nor greater attendance. In 2002 Boyle put the club into administration. Manager Terry Butcher had no option but to rely on youth. Motherwell only avoided relegation on a technicality – Falkirk’s ground did not meet the standards required by the Scottish Premier League (SPL). Motherwell emerged from administration, due to the sale of players including James McFadden and even more to the generosity of John Boyle who waived the club’s £8m debt to him. Motherwell’s reliance on youth paid off as Terry Butcher led his side to the Scottish Cup Final in 2005, where they were thrashed 5-1 by Rangers. On May 17^th 2006 Butcher’s assistant Maurice Malpas succeeded him as manager, following Butcher’s decision to coach in Australia. Malpas’ stint in charge ended on June 1^st. Mark McGhee was appointed Motherwell’s manager for next season. But what about racism? Have there been any incidents that could explain the treatment Jason Scotland received at Fir Park?

There was a non-incident in 2001 at Fir Park. Motherwell’s then defender Stephen Hammell was accused of racially abusing Guinean international Momo Sylla, then playing for St Johnstone. The police were informed and Hammell was charged. The charges were subsequently dropped and rightly so. The alleged victim, Sylla, never made any complaint about it and shook hands with Hammell after the match. Both had been booked during a competitive display. Sylla said at the time that the only time he had experienced racism in Scottish football was at the hands of St Johnstone supporters. He ignored it believing that they were drunk at the time. The allegation of racism against Hammell came from St Johnstone supporters who claimed to have heard racist remarks. Given that Sylla – who was closer – did not hear it, shook hands with Hammell and is not afraid to report racist conduct, the evidence suggests that Hammell was wrongfully accused. Hammell has represented Scotland at every level, winning one senior cap. He joined Southend on a free transfer last season.

There were no other incidents until the season of 2006-07. Motherwell does not appear to be a club with a history of racist incidents and, consequently, had no reason to expect Jason Scotland to be racially abused. As such it is understandable that the club was unable to prevent the incident from taking place, but who were the culprits and what measures were taken to identify them?

“We invited fans to send in e-mails, telephone, whatever to try and identify these people, because they were an embarrassment to the club,” says Mr Rodger. “Not one of them were wearing Motherwell gear – scarves, or headgear, or shirts or anything to identify them as Motherwell supporters. The fact that they drifted away leads me to believe that they were not Motherwell fans who came to watch Motherwell. There were only two left at half time and they left shortly afterwards. True Motherwell fans would not have drifted away. We believe that they were not Motherwell fans.”

Motherwell clearly took the incident very seriously. The club contacted the police, who began an investigation to try to bring the culprits to justice. Motherwell appealed to their supporters to help them identify the people responsible so that appropriate action could be taken against them. “We tried to get as much information from our fans about who was involved,” says Russell Rodger. “We invited fans to send in e-mails, telephone, whatever to try and identify these people, because they were an embarrassment to the club. We were not successful.”

The task was complicated by the policy that had been adopted to encourage supporters to come to Fir Park that day to support the club. “It was a game where we wanted to attract fans, so we reduced the prices that day,” says Mr Rodger. “All prices were same. It could be that some fans who normally pay lower prices came into the main stand on that occasion as it is considered a better stand.” This policy meant that season ticket holders were not necessarily in their normal seats. The task of identifying individual fans was therefore much more difficult than it would normally have been.

Between seventy-five to eighty stewards were on duty that night. It was considered a good ratio of stewards to fans. The club was not prepared for racist conduct and the vast majority of Motherwell fans in the main stand made their disapproval clear. The racists stopped quickly. Both stewards and police were quickly informed, but it was already too late. The incident occurred in the first half. Some of the culprits did not even stay to the end of the first half. By the time police at the match were able to direct their CCTV to that area of the stand it was too late to identify the people who had made the noises,” says Mr Rodger.

However, the appeal for information was not entirely unsuccessful. “We were given certain information which we passed on to the police,” says Mr Rodger. There were twelve of them and the evidence establishes that they were not regular supporters of Motherwell and most likely were not even supporters of the club at all. “Not one of them were wearing Motherwell gear – scarves, or headgear, or shirts or anything to identify them as Motherwell supporters,” Mr Rodger says. “The incident happened in the first twenty minutes and it was over quickly as fans around them shouted at them. Our fans policed the situation and got them to stop. During the first half they drifted away to a social club. The fact that they drifted away leads me to believe that they were not Motherwell fans who came to watch Motherwell. There were only two left at half time and they left shortly afterwards. True Motherwell fans would not have drifted away. We believe that they were not Motherwell fans.”

So, where was this social club and what happened next? “fThey went over to Fir Park Social Club, just across the road, which is nothing to do with the [football] club,” says Mr Rodger. “The people over there said that they thought they had English accents, so who were they? We don’t know. Were they up on holiday? We don’t know. Even the people around them weren’t able to identify them. They hadn’t seen them before, so we have never been able to identify them.”

The evidence suggests that the culprits were not regular supporters of Motherwell. In fact, they probably were not supporters of Motherwell at all. They just took advantage of cheap tickets and brought shame to a club, which has taken its responsibilities very seriously, but why couldn’t they be identified. It is unfortunate that neither police nor stewards were alerted in time to get to the area and detain the offenders, even though they were informed as rapidly as the decent and true Motherwell supporters could tell them. It is also unfortunate that the perpetrators had left before the CCTV could be directed to the relevant area, but what about Fir Park Social Club? If it had CCTV at least the faces of the offenders would be known? “The Social club didn’t have CCTV,” says Mr Rodger. “I passed the information about English accents to the police.” Sadly, the culprits have not been identified, let alone apprehended to date. It is unlikely that they ever will be, but why was Motherwell unprepared for the possibility of racist conduct at Fir Park Stadium that night?

“It was totally unexpected as we have never had an incident like that,” says Rodger. “Hindsight is a great thing. We have never had that kind of incident and were totally unprepared for it, so the police and stewards were taken by surprise. We need to prepare our stewards and the police to react more quickly, but we were totally unprepared for racial chants.”

Motherwell accepts that they were not prepared for what happened to Jason Scotland on February 28^th. “It was totally unexpected as we have never had an incident like that,” says Mr Rodger. “Hindsight is a great thing. We have never had that kind of incident and were totally unprepared for it, so the police and stewards were taken by surprise.” But Rodger does not seek to use this as an excuse. He accepts that there are lessons to be learned from the incident with Jason Scotland – something the club is keen to do. “We need to prepare our stewards and the police to react more quickly, but we were totally unprepared for racial chants. We were unprepared for it as we have never had this kind of thing before.”

Rodger has been at the club for more than a decade and cannot recall an incident involving a racist remark. “There may have been one,” he says, “but I’m not aware of it. Not even sectarianism. But going back to racism, I’m not aware of any kind of racist incident here at Motherwell. I’ve been here eleven years, two-and-a-half as General Manager and none have been brought to my attention. You hear things, you are made aware of things, but certainly I have not been made aware of any racist incidents.”

Rodger is very keen to ensure that nothing like this ever happens again at Motherwell and that it is never taken by surprise again. The club sought the help of Show Racism The Red Card (Scotland), especially its newly appointed Campaigns co-ordinator Billy Singh. “We were working closely with the national association but also with Show Racism The Red Card. Billy Singh and I had a conversation about it the next morning and Billy gave me ways to go forward, for which I was very very thankful, but we worked with the national association and other organisations to try to correct this impression that Motherwell was a racist club, because it was a great embarrassment to us,” said Mr Rodger.

The club worked with both the Scottish Football Association (SFA) and Show Racism The Red Card (Scotland), especially Singh. “I know that the SFA and SPL [Scottish Premier League] are currently drafting guidelines that will deal with such issues. It is important that these regulations also include support for players who have suffered racial abuse,” said Mr Singh the day after Jason Scotland was racially abused. “At Fir Park on Monday evening in the match against Hearts we will be working with Motherwell and the SPL for a Show Racism The Red Card action. Players from both clubs will be wearing Show Racism The Red Card t-shirts during the warm up and prior to kick off there will be a red card display from players and officials with tannoy announcements reinforcing the anti-racist message.”

Motherwell followed Singh’s suggestion. Hearts was the next team to visit Fir Park and was happy to lend its support. “We had a display on the pitch and all our staff, including players were wearing ‘Show Racism the Red Card’ T-shirts,” says Mr Rodger. “All the players made a display of Show Racism The Red Card by holding up red cards to racism. The match was televised so the message that racism has no place at Motherwell Football Club went out all over Scotland. Hearts were very happy to join us in giving that message not only to the fans who were here that day, but across Scotland. Racism has no place at Motherwell Football Club or in Scottish football.”

The players were happy to take part. “The idea to wear the t-shirts came from the Directors of the club,” says striker Paul Keegan, who signed for the club during the January transfer window. “The players were all for it. They wanted to do it. We all thought ‘what can we do to show that we are behind this project’ and we thought wearing the t-shirts was a good way to show that. We wanted to try everything in our power to stop it happening.” And Keegan wasn’t alone in wanting to show his support for anti-racism. Kenny Connolly also has no truck with racism. “It wasn’t just after that incident,” says Mr Connolly. “We wore them in previous matches at Parkhead against Celtic, as well. There were fans who wanted to show support to Jason Scotland.” So what did Motherwell’s players think of the Jason Scotland incident, racism in football and the way forward?

I went to see Motherwell play Kilmarnock in April. Before the match I had the opportunity to interview Russell Rodger and Motherwell players, Keegan and Connolly. All three were happy to assist and determined to show that they do not tolerate racism and nor does their club. “The players have nothing to do with a minority in the crowd that let the club down,” says Mr Connolly. “We have done a lot of work through the SFA and through the SPL, and others showed us what we can do.” Keegan was more emphatic. “First of all we were on the pitch and wasn’t aware of it at the time,” says Mr Keegan. “I’d like to have seen whoever was involved being escorted out of the place and never get back in. It’s not fair; it’s not right.”

Both Keegan and Connolly were aware of their responsibilities as role models and were keen to promote the anti-racist message. “Racism in football should be cut out. It should be totally abolished. There shouldn’t be any in any kind of sport, never mind just football,” said Mr Keegan. “You start when the kids are young, growing up – the next generation coming up and you teach them what’s right and what’s wrong and that comes from the parents and the schools.” Connolly is also aware of his responsibilities and is happy to spread the anti-racist message. “We are role models and set a positive example to young kids,” he says. “You let them know that as players – we don’t tolerate it. We are idolised. The bigger clubs you go to the more the players are idolised. Young kids want to be like you, so we can help them to see that it [racism] is wrong. We promote that message. We promote Show Racism The Red Card. We can show them that it’s wrong to do it.”

Motherwell is a club that takes its responsibilities seriously – very seriously. It has an anti-racist policy and equal opportunities on its website. The club tried to identify the people who racially abused Jason Scotland and has implemented policies to prevent repetition. Despite these efforts and more Motherwell was at risk of punishment under the revised Article 55 of FIFA’s Disciplinary Code. Ironically, the club faced sanction because both it and the SFA had not tried to brush this incident under the carpet. If a club that takes its responsibilities to combat racist conduct as seriously as Motherwell can be punished for it, then Article 55 must be revised again