Celtic fan being sentenced for online sectarian abuse

sure do love my freedom of speech...

 

even if it's racist?

guy deserved what he got for being racist, freedom of speech has nothing to do with it

it would just be nice if it was equally applied; one look at the follow follow forum and the polis could lift every single member on that site; will they though?

 

no, i never agree with someone being arrested for something they say. he didn't physically harm anyone. people should be allowed to express themselves even if that means some people will use that right to be racist, bigoted, etc. governments should not be allowed the power to censor people.

 

Agreed.

 

So you think people are within their rights to be racist? Absolute bullshit, that's the problem with some people, they think they can say what they want and refer to certain things in certain ways regardless of it being racist, sectarian etc. The sooner all types of racism are severely clamped down on the better and I mean all racism.

 

to answer your question simply, yes. the freedom of speech is recognized as a basic human right under Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights as well as with the ICCPR. so yes, people are, in fact, within their rights to say racist things.

^note the difference between saying racist things and being racist. people who are racist aren't going to discontinue being racist just because they are not allowed to say it.

and who gets to determine what is racist? or bigoted? i'm sure there's many on here that have issue with certain songs being banned from celtic park because someone else said they were racist or bigoted. is it the government? that's a lot of power to give to a body which would have interest in censorship. (big brother, totalitarianism, and not to resort to Godwin's law, but Nazism)

 

Absolutely - not even the government denies that.

Racism is a belief. You can't clamp down on people's beliefs - they will believe what they want, whether we agree with it or despise it.

What we're talking about is the expression of beliefs. I think that in a society that calls itself free, people should be at liberty to express their beliefs without the Government punishing them and telling them to be quiet.

 

On your argument, the freedom of movement right prevents the police from issuing football banning orders or locking people up or stops parents from keeping their children indoors.

 

stadiums are owned by a club which are private institutions which have their own governing rules. Celtic FC may have their own rules that say you may not speak at all within the grounds, and if you don't like it then you don't have to be a part of it. if they own the lands they can have their property protected by the local police.

that's an issue of private corporation vs. government. i would have no issue if facebook kicked this person off their site for saying racist or bigoted things. if you don't want to conform to their rules you don't have to use their service. but it wasn't facebook, it was the government interfering.

 

They probably shovelled and scrolled down past hundreds of "Irish * catholic *" comments to find this on the page. When I seen the title of the thread, I was expecting him to have broken the upcoming sectarian law by writing "Just home from the chapel" as his status... Racism is a step too far though in all fareness.

 

I'm not surprised a Celtic fan hits the headlines for online sectarian abuse....but he was wrong unfortunately

I'm sure Rangers fans will get done but somehow i think the press have a field day when it's a Celtic related issue....*'s

 

The guy who made the racist comments about Diouf deserves all he gets show racism the red card

 

I don't know what he did so bad
1.Diouf is a barstard from Sengal Fact
2.The huns are Orange Barstards

What really * me off is the guys who sent the bombs to Lennon no mention of what team they support.* Hun media picking on us

 

Glad to see some sanity on this thread! I can't believe people actually believe it should be a criminal matter to say things that offend people. For crying out loud - who decides and where do you draw the line?

I don't agree with what he said, but a good public shaming is all that's needed. The Celtic Rumors guys do a good job of this on Twitter for example (exposing shameful comments from Rangers fans).

 

I agree 100%

however I will not be shedding any tears over the scumbag who made these comments, he is just as bad as the huns

 

Funny but sadly true... Unbelievable...

 

He was in my year at school lol.Although I'm sure he's not twenty as I am 18.

He deserves what he gets if he did make racist remarks even if it is online.They simply MUST have arrested some huns on that page as it is a haven for the bigoted scum they are.

 

If the reports are true, then he sounds like a wee *.

Can't believe he's the only * on that webpage pishing * & bile.

Surely should have been more arrests, if they want to clamp down on this.

 

I find his sentence laughable. Why not giving him a fine?

I'm sure you would get a milder sentence if you battered up 3 guys.

 

100% agree, everyone at one point has said something daft that they shouldn't have on the internet in anger, but its very harsh that 20 year old has now been labelled a racist and bigot due to Facebook comment. It may have been out of character!