Moved On. But Not Forward.

Whenever the debate resumes on the subject of whether or not alcohol should be sold inside our football grounds the argument is always put forward that "we've moved on" since the riot at the end of an Old Firm cup final in 1980 forced the government to make Scottish football a no-go area for carry-outs on the terracing.

The terracings have gone to be replaced by all seated stadia, but how can we claim to have "moved on" when it comes to misbehaviour?

The SPFL will this week assess the report written by the delegate who attended Friday night's game between Raith Rovers and Rangers.

Tom Purdie's report will address the subject of the clearly audible singing of sectarian songs by Rangers' travelling support.

The findings, let me assure you, will be that the club took every reasonable step they could, not to be followed by those who refuse to join the rest of us in the twenty-first century.

And that will be that until the next time. And don't worry, there will be a next time.

The game's ruling bodies simply aren't brave enough to confront the issue of anti-social behaviour as it applies to football grounds and take the decision to deduct points from persistent misbehavers.

The wilder excesses of the Rangers support long ago ended any dream they might have had of being invited into English football.

Celtic's image is, generally speaking, a different, more sanitised, matter. But why did some fans introduce The Soldiers Song into the context of a glamorous Europa League tie with Inter Milan last week?

Celtic Park was a beautifully choreographed sea of colour with a theatrical backdrop to a football match created by opera singers and legends of the past taking a triumphant bow pre-match.

It was a visual demonstration of the modern day image a club like Celtic would prefer to adopt in a heavily commercialised world.

The Soldiers Song is not sectarian but, I repeat, what place does it have in the context of a European tie able to attract sixty thousand people to Celtic Park?

But further proof that we haven't "moved on" at all is readily available when you express these opinions about Celtic or Rangers on air.

If pundits wanted a quiet life they'd say nothing and brush the entire subject under a very large carpet for fear of retribution.

The price of telling people off for their lack of manners while tarnishing the names of the clubs they support live on television is outright hostility by social media, e-mail or any other form of instant communication you can think of. Trust me.

Then again, you're not allowed to say anything about anything any more so far as the game is concerned.

If you wish Celtic well in Milan on Thursday night and hope that they reach the last sixteen of the Europa League then you are slaughtered for being a laptop lackey who lives in Peter Lawwell's back pocket.

But if you say that a win for Aberdeen at Celtic Park on Sunday would be a good result in the context of a close run title race then that status immediately changes and you're reviled as a man with an agenda against the reigning champions.

It is an infantile, non-thinking and narrow minded approach to life, but it is the way most supporters react without a trace of a blush.

Rangers are at Falkirk on Friday night. Will the away support have "moved on" and avoid the possibility of a further censure from the governing body for singing questionable songs?

What do you think?

Will anyone be credited with having the good of the game at heart by hoping Aberdeen can stage a grandstand finale to the Premiership rather than witness a premature conclusion to the competition?

Don't be silly.

It would be terrific for the good of Scottish football's battered reputation if Celtic beat Roberto Mancini's side in the San Siro stadium.

No arguments about the declining state of Serie A. No caveats about Inter not being the side they once were.

It would simply be great to see a Scottish team win in a country where defeat was once accepted in advance as the norm.

And what would be so wrong with Aberdeen being level with Celtic, while Ronny Deila's side have a game in hand, with twelve matches to play in the league championship?

Could the fair minded stand up here and admit both scenarios would be acceptable to lovers of the game, or are they mindful of the consequences where fair play is concerned?

Moved on?

From bad to worse, maybe.