LABOUR will scrap the Offensive Behaviour at Football Act if it wins the Holyrood Election next week.

The party will include a commitment in its election manifesto, to be launched tomorrow.

The party said the act was hastily introduced and has succeeded only in damaging relations between football fans and police at matches.

The manifesto will commit Labour to repealing the act which is says dose not have support of clubs, anti-sectarian campaigners or sheriffs.

The manifesto is expected to state: “The Offensive Behaviour at Football and Threatening Communications Act was railroaded through Parliament even though it was opposed by every opposition party and leading anti-sectarianism charities.”

Instead Labour will promise to tackle sectarianism through “education and prevention”.

Rather than legislation it wants to work with anti-sectarianism charities, churches, football authorities and fans “to develop positive measures to stamp out sectarianism in Scotland once and for all.”

Labour’s Rutherglen candidate James Kelly said the Act was “hated”: “

He said "Sectarianism in Scotland goes way beyond 90 minutes on a Saturday or 140 characters in a tweet.

"The Football Act was bulldozed through parliament by the SNP with not a single other party voting for it and civic Scotland, from football fans to academics and lawyers opposing it.

“Since then it’s been branded mince by a senior Judge. After years of the SNP arrogantly denying they got it wrong. It’s time to blow the final whistle on the Football Act.”