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Thank Goodness Football is about to break out. That is a relief for us all. Maybe the actual balls actually being kicked will start the process of the beautiful game becoming the talking point rather than the excesses. What’s for sure is the vast range and depths of sheer and often nasty ugliness baked-in by Infantino’s version of Fifa into the future, fully supported and exacerbated by his Faustian pact with the alleged leader of the free world. I love the USA, always have,

Consider: You are the commercial decision maker of either your football club or a football association. If you could get immediate and easy money for your club or leagues from a potentially toxic consumer product like gambling, and I mean much more than the market rate, what would you do? Of course, you are mindful that Gambling is a product you know to be potentially damaging. But it’s not your job to make the rules. And anyway, any damage will be under-reported and never d

Following our recent, online meeting with the CEO/MD/Chair of the women's game in Scotland and various fans from clubs across the country, we're delighted to say that two of those who attended that (very productive) session have volunteered to join the SFU's women's team. Let them introduce themselves... Loran Taylor My name is Loran Taylor and I first got into women's football, specifically Elgin City FC Women, in March 2025. I knew nothing of the team prior to this or ha

Isla McMillan is Chair-person for Rangers Woman Collective. She first started attending the games after getting tickets via Scottish Power (who are one of the biggest sponsors of the SWPL) and has been following Rangers Women FC for over five years now. To say she is a committed fan is a wee bit of an undestatement. Isla attends all home and away games with her 11 year old daughter, who is not just a fan but also now plays for Gartcairn. However, while Isla and her daugher s

The kilt, with the indisputable provenance of Andy Goram's name tag! Andy Goram was the first footballer Stephen Reside met when he was five years old, when Goram was still at Rangers. As a child with cerebral palsy, sitting in a wheelchair, it was a big thrill for Stephen. It was an even bigger thrill when Andy moved to Stephen’s team, Motherwell, and kept opposition forwards at bay for several seasons at Fir Park. What a keeper he was! Now, another Andy, Andy Smith, the

The Immutable Laws of Scottish Football. (And some other wee stories) I was glad to hear yesterday that Steve has been given a 4 year contract extension by the 6th floor. I’m also well aware that we’ve never got out of the group stage and somehow that has become our be-all and end-all goal in the land of King Donald. People, especially those making a living in the media, seem to collectively forget we actually made the last 16 in 1974 just by qualifying. And were the only und

Until last night, I didn’t think I was a member of the Tartan Army. To be honest (and I suspect the sky will go dark with objects hurled at my head at this point), I have been a bit of a fair-weather Scotland fan when it comes to going to games in recent times. In the past, yes, I can recollect trips to the old Hampden with 100,000+ in the stadium for games against England, midweek friendlies against the likes of Northern Ireland and a potentially reckless trip to Hampden i

I’m at a stage when I realise that I’m not clever enough or knowledgeable to know who to vote for in elections and increasingly think the playground stuff that politicians put on to feed our media is embarrassing. I also find it easier to take people of different hues as I find them as people irrespective of political rosettery. Over the last two or three years I have gained a genuine respect for the football-related work that our junior Health Minister, Maree Todd, has done

As we enter the final days of the Premiership season we're getting a clearer picture of who will be in the play-off for the top flight, with St Mirren now scheduled to play either Partick Thistle or Dunfermline, who meet tonight with the score from the first-leg tied at one apiece. The same scoreline carries forward from the first leg in the First Division play-off, with Hamilton playing Clyde. The Premiership play-off is intriguing. Normally, the Premiership side is the fa

If fans, clubs and the media want better referees what are they doing about it? There was a lot of publicity in the media recently about Rangers calling a ‘summit’ of other clubs to discuss their concerns about the standard of refereeing. Since then, there has been even more negative publicity about referees in the last week, culminating in a leading official requiring police protection. The SFU view on this is made clear in this post. No reasonable football fan can believ

Here’s a truism or 12. Without football referees there would be no football. Referees get treated outrageously by certain fans who find it easier to blame someone else for shortcomings at their club. Referees are humans with families and deserve respect for having the balls to put up with the nastyish, mostly abusive things in football. Fans don’t always know the rules as well as they think they do. Refs have split seconds to bring conflicting happenings together and make ins

No matter what you think of their decisions, our referees are human beings, with lives to live, families to protect and jobs to do and they simply must not be subjected to unaccepable threats and intimidation. The SFU is working with the SFA referees to help them recruit and retain more officials. We have real expertise in this area and are happy to help. Without referees we don’t have a game and we need more officials at every level of Scottish football. Youngsters sometim

A section of the audience at the SFU's Disability Events at McDiarmid Park. Last Thursday, many of the Disability Access Officers (DAOs) and other leading people working to help disabled football fans and para-footballers, met at St Johnstone’s McDiarmid Park to hear a number of presentations from some real experts in this field. When the SFU set up this event, we knew there had not been anything like it for a number of years. We were slightly worried how many people would t

No, This is not a column praising the birthplace of George Best, Rory McIlroy and my Great, Great, Grannie Catherine Charleton, (no connection I know of to the more renowned Bobby and Jack). No it’s the sad summary of a season where County started as favourites and flopped. We all now know that there will be no Highland Derby next season after ICT closed out the SPFL1 and County slipped silently from the Championship. One of my old pals, a staunch County fan, dropped me a not

For some the business end of the season is good news but for others disaster is on the horizon. Right now, I genuinely think both our top leagues are still open with Hearts in the best position in both but with dog-eat-dog matches to manoeuvre. Exciting yes. Motherwell’s victory last week in Rangersland shows there are no certainties for any of the top teams. But clarity is coming, starting tonight while Sting is in the ether. Ross County will know if they face a double releg

I’m happy to say that VAR was not the talking point after both Scottish Cup semi-finals, but free speech was, or rather the banning of a pundit from the game. I'm a journalist and we all have an opinion – it’s our job is to pass comment on footballing issues and, of course, some people agree with what we say and some don’t. Michael Stewart, who works for Premier Sports amongst other broadcasters, was told to stay away from last month's friendly at Hampden between Scotland an

UPDATED: 24th May 2024 The SFU now has over 102,000 affiliated members, cementing our position as the biggest independent fans' group in the country. Thank you to everyone who has signed up, whether individually or as part of a larger group. By joining us, you can get your voice heard in the corridors of power, at both Holyrood and Hampden. Here's what we're doing for Scottish football fans and it's this work that has attracted so much attention and interest. Please join

Sometimes the Good Ship Football is damaged by what looks like stupidity and unfairness but is in reality the natural outcome of a system built on self-interest. This week recent history repeated itself when Linlithgow Rose qualified for the SPFL2 play offs after a great second half of the season, only to be told they didn’t meet the criteria because of 6 licence failings. The main one was that they hadn’t filed accounts. Eejits. Like Buckie Last Year The club has let down th

We have a place at the World Cup. Our SPFL and WSPFL leagues are all more competitive than ever. But the own goal that is ‘insecurity’ is a constant cancer right through our game. I say that after our authorities recently banned one of our more combative, mouthier, but also maybe more insightful pundits from Hampden. I found that particular move more unsavoury than anything Michael Stewart has or could have ever have said. I disagree with lots of what he spouts and especiall