>#Court rules football is not, in fact, a religion
>Football is not a religion but merely a lifestyle choice, a judge has ruled in a landmark case brought by a Rangers FC supporter.
>Although some of the greatest players, such as Pele and Diego Maradona, famously claimed their devotion to the game put it on a par with a religion, a court has now concluded it does not constitute a “philosophical belief” in the same way.
>An employment tribunal was ruling in the case of subcontractor Edward McClung, 51, who insisted he was discriminated against by two firms because he is a diehard fan of Rangers.
>McClung sued, claiming his avid allegiance to the Glasgow club was such it should be viewed as “a way of life” and that instead of going to church he went to watch Rangers.
>However, the judge ruled that being a football fan was merely “a lifestyle choice” and “does not represent a belief as to a weighty or substantial aspect of human life”.
>The devotion of fans was not deemed to have the necessary “level of cogency, seriousness, cohesion and importance” to constitute a philosophical belief such as humanism, pacifism, atheism or veganism.
>Judge Lucy Wiseman said: “The only common factor linking fans would be the fact they wanted their team to do well/win.”
>McClung, of Bonnybridge, near Falkirk, launched his claim for £80,000 on the basis his company McClung Strategy and Projects lost out on work due to his support of Rangers.
>He claimed that being a fan of Rangers was such a vital part of his existence that it constituted a philosophical belief and should be protected under employment law.
>He told the tribunal, held in Glasgow: “I live my life in accordance with being a Rangers fan. I don’t go to church. I go to Rangers. It’s a belief to me.
>“If people say their religion is protected, how many times do they go to church? I would argue it’s as important to me as someone who has a religion.”
>Wiseman ruled that McClung’s football fandom did not satisfy four of the five tests to qualify as a true philosophical belief protected under the law.
>Although she accepted his “belief” was genuinely held, she decided it did not actually qualify as a true ‘belief’ in the same way as a philosophy such as humanism or atheism.
>Fans wished their team to be successful, enjoyed being a member of the club and attending matches but their support was “akin to support for a political party” and previous cases had made clear a particular political affiliation “does not constitute a philosophical belief”.
>She also ruled it was not “a weighty and substantial aspect of human life and behaviour”, adding: “I considered support for a football club to be akin to a lifestyle choice, rather than relating to a substantial aspect of human life and behaviour.”
>Wiseman said: “I did not doubt [his] evidence regarding the build-up to match days and his habits on the day of a match, or the fact it is a way of life for him, but these are all personal matters . . . There was nothing to suggest fans had to behave, or did behave, in a similar way. The only common factor linking fans would be the fact they wanted their team to do well/win.”
>Although McClung had also also cited his support for the Union and loyalty to the Queen, Wiseman said “those factors are not prerequisites of being a supporter of Rangers”.
>She concluded: “However fanatical [McClung’s] support for Rangers, it lacked the required characteristics of cogency, cohesion and importance.
>“I say that because support for Rangers has no larger consequences for humanity as a whole, nothing underpinning it beyond a desire for the team to do well/win and no impact on how people lived their lives.”
Well, football isn’t a religion, but religion certainly is.
And sectarianism underpins all things Old Firm.
It’s the religion of peace!
How does a court get to choose? I mean football might not be religion but could I also claim the other so called religions aren’t religions either.
Religion is just a set of beliefs, lots of football fans have a lot of belief and pray a hell of a long more in know game than I’d wager most religious people pray.
So like there could be a god of football they’re all praying to.
4 comments
>#Court rules football is not, in fact, a religion
>Football is not a religion but merely a lifestyle choice, a judge has ruled in a landmark case brought by a Rangers FC supporter.
>Although some of the greatest players, such as Pele and Diego Maradona, famously claimed their devotion to the game put it on a par with a religion, a court has now concluded it does not constitute a “philosophical belief” in the same way.
>An employment tribunal was ruling in the case of subcontractor Edward McClung, 51, who insisted he was discriminated against by two firms because he is a diehard fan of Rangers.
>McClung sued, claiming his avid allegiance to the Glasgow club was such it should be viewed as “a way of life” and that instead of going to church he went to watch Rangers.
>However, the judge ruled that being a football fan was merely “a lifestyle choice” and “does not represent a belief as to a weighty or substantial aspect of human life”.
>The devotion of fans was not deemed to have the necessary “level of cogency, seriousness, cohesion and importance” to constitute a philosophical belief such as humanism, pacifism, atheism or veganism.
>Judge Lucy Wiseman said: “The only common factor linking fans would be the fact they wanted their team to do well/win.”
>McClung, of Bonnybridge, near Falkirk, launched his claim for £80,000 on the basis his company McClung Strategy and Projects lost out on work due to his support of Rangers.
>He claimed that being a fan of Rangers was such a vital part of his existence that it constituted a philosophical belief and should be protected under employment law.
>He told the tribunal, held in Glasgow: “I live my life in accordance with being a Rangers fan. I don’t go to church. I go to Rangers. It’s a belief to me.
>“If people say their religion is protected, how many times do they go to church? I would argue it’s as important to me as someone who has a religion.”
>Wiseman ruled that McClung’s football fandom did not satisfy four of the five tests to qualify as a true philosophical belief protected under the law.
>Although she accepted his “belief” was genuinely held, she decided it did not actually qualify as a true ‘belief’ in the same way as a philosophy such as humanism or atheism.
>Fans wished their team to be successful, enjoyed being a member of the club and attending matches but their support was “akin to support for a political party” and previous cases had made clear a particular political affiliation “does not constitute a philosophical belief”.
>She also ruled it was not “a weighty and substantial aspect of human life and behaviour”, adding: “I considered support for a football club to be akin to a lifestyle choice, rather than relating to a substantial aspect of human life and behaviour.”
>Wiseman said: “I did not doubt [his] evidence regarding the build-up to match days and his habits on the day of a match, or the fact it is a way of life for him, but these are all personal matters . . . There was nothing to suggest fans had to behave, or did behave, in a similar way. The only common factor linking fans would be the fact they wanted their team to do well/win.”
>Although McClung had also also cited his support for the Union and loyalty to the Queen, Wiseman said “those factors are not prerequisites of being a supporter of Rangers”.
>She concluded: “However fanatical [McClung’s] support for Rangers, it lacked the required characteristics of cogency, cohesion and importance.
>“I say that because support for Rangers has no larger consequences for humanity as a whole, nothing underpinning it beyond a desire for the team to do well/win and no impact on how people lived their lives.”
Well, football isn’t a religion, but religion certainly is.
And sectarianism underpins all things Old Firm.
It’s the religion of peace!
How does a court get to choose? I mean football might not be religion but could I also claim the other so called religions aren’t religions either.
Religion is just a set of beliefs, lots of football fans have a lot of belief and pray a hell of a long more in know game than I’d wager most religious people pray.
So like there could be a god of football they’re all praying to.
Thus football could in fact be a religion.