THE law to crack down on sectarian-ism at football matches should be repealed, according to Labour and Tory MSPs.

During a heated debate in the Scottish Parliament it was argued the Offensive Behaviour at Football and Threat-ening Communication Act was bad law .

The Scottish Govern-ment defended the act and said it was part of a wider programme and was already showing signs of success.

The opposition parties, who opposed the act before it was passed in 2012, backed a motion to repeal it.

Conservative MSP Murdo Fraser said: "If ever there was an illiberal, unnecessary and nonsensical piece of legislation this was it."

He said sectarianism was not a problem across the whole of the country but a "problem of a small minority".

He said any measures to tackle sectarianism should be "targeted and proportionate".

Mr Fraser cited a Celtic fan convicted for singing a song when no-one was offended.

He said: "In a modern, free, liberal, democratic society, we should not be criminalising speech or opinions, and Parliament should not be passing confused legislation. This is bad law and it should be repealed."

Labour equalities spokeswoman Elaine Murray said the act had failed, was "unnecess-ary and unhelpful" and a "knee jerk reaction".

The act was brought in following high-profile cases of prominent Celtic supporters sent death threats and bullets in the post.

Tensions reached a high point following a confrontation after an old Firm Match when managers Ally McCoist and Neil Lennon squared up to one another.

Community safety Minister Roseanna Cunningham, who has responsibility for sect-arianism, rejected the criticism and said the focus would continue.

She said: "The Scottish Government is completely committed to tackling sectarianism.

"The act was brought in for a reason, at and around football."

She said online abuse and threats of death made to players and their families made it necessary.

Ms Cunningham said: "The statistics suggest it is working. It is wrong to say the act is the start, middle and end of this government's attempts to tackle sectarianism."

Meanwhile Labour leadership contender Jim Murphy has pledged to repeal the act if he becomes Labour leader and the party wins the 2016 Holyrood election.

Mr Murphy, not yet an MSP, said: "The law was an attempt to chase headlines rather than fix a complex problem. Sectarianism and intol-erance go far beyond 90 minutes on a Saturday or 140 characters in a tweet.

"Instead of fixing the problem, they have crea-ted a pointless culture of mistrust between foot-ball fans and the police."

stewart.paterson@ eveningtimes.co.uk