Ex First Minister Henry McLeish fears the cost of living crisis will fuel a surge in hooliganism at top flight football matches. Police were called to deal with incidents following Scottish Premiership and Championship games last weekend. Former Scottish Labour leader McLeish is concerned the violence is a sign of things to come as people struggle to cope with crippling economic pressures.
His warning comes as fans’ group chief Andy Smith urged supporters to be on their best behaviour amid concerns social unrest will spread to the terraces of football grounds. McLeish, hired by the SFA to investigate the state of football in Scotland in 2010, said "people could be seeking outlets for their anger and sadly one of them could be football".
He added: “There’s a degree of tension building up in society, at every level, and a degree of worry and fear about the future. It’s going to get much worse next year with inflation going up, the possibility of a recession with the threat of unemployment. This is unprecedented. I can’t recall a time, even in the ‘70s and ‘80s, when things were as bad as this.”
