The Scottish government legislation aims to tackle hate crime at and around football matches New laws to tackle religious hatred and bigotry related to football are to be passed by the Scottish Parliament, despite a lack of opposition support.A government bill aims to help tackle the issue with jail terms of up to five years for behaviour which could cause public disorder in and around matches.
But Labour, the Tories, Lib Dems and Greens said the case for new legislation had not been made.
They want the problem addressed through greater use of existing law.
The parties have also called on the government to work more closely with the Scottish football authorities, schools and communities.
Despite opposition, there are enough votes to see the majority SNP government's Offensive Behaviour at Football and Threatening Communications Bill passed.
The legislation, which has won backing from police and prosecutors, aims to stamp out abusive behaviour, whether fans are watching matches in a stadium, in the pub or commenting online.
It will create two new offences relating to behaviour deemed to "incite religious, racial or other forms of hatred".
Continue reading the main storyIt creates two new offences - one dealing with offensive behaviour relating to football games, and a second on threatening communications.
Penalties range from a £40 fixed fine to a maximum of five years in prison and an unlimited fine.
The first offence deals with sectarian and other offensive chanting and behaviour likely to cause public disorder.
It covers conduct around football matches, inside grounds, and those travelling to and from stadiums - as well as fans watching games elsewhere, for example in pubs or on big screens outdoors.
In law, the legislation aims to take into account "expressing or inciting religious, racial or other forms of hatred" and "threatening behaviour or behaviour which would be offensive to any reasonable person".
It also creates potential for the imposition of football banning orders in every case.
The second offence deals with serious threats - including murder - made on the internet and elsewhere, and threats intended to incite religious hatred.
That would take in posts on sites such as Facebook and Twitter, as well as specific websites, and actions such as sending bullets or images depicting serious harm in the post.
Scottish ministers say the legislation will not stop peaceful preaching or artistic performance, nor will it criminalise satirical jokes about religion or non-religious belief.
They also insist it will not stop peoples' right to criticise religion or non-religious beliefs, "even in harsh terms".
Decisions on sentencing in each case are a matter for the courts.
Source: Scottish government
Community Safety Minister Roseanna Cunningham, said: "Sectarianism shouldn't be part of a modern Scotland and we need to do everything we can to eradicate it once and for all - to put it quite simply, it will not be tolerated."We must remember why we are acting. Songs are being sung at football matches in Scotland which have nothing to do with football and everything to do with hatred, violence and bigotry.
"Bombs have been sent through the post to individuals because of their links to particular football clubs, and death threats against a football manager posted on the internet."
The minister insisted the vast majority of fans, who were well-behaved, had nothing to fear from the bill, adding: "This comes down to a choice.
"You can either do nothing and allow the status quo which allows the mindless bigot to thrive or we can take the strong action needed now and send out a message that this behaviour is not going to be tolerated any longer."
The bill was brought forward in the wake of several high-profile football-related incidents, including trouble at Rangers and Celtic games.
But its opponents, which also include independent MSP Margo Macdonald, claimed the legislation has been driven by the desire to respond, rather than an approach based on evidence.
The Scottish government, which had been hoping for political consensus across the board, was forced to delay plans to rush through the bill earlier this year after criticism from fans' groups and clergymen that not enough people were being consulted on the legislation.
Confusion had also surrounded exactly what would constitute a sectarian offence, with Scotland's top prosecutor, Lord Advocate Frank Mulholland, previously clarifying that behaviour would not be seen as illegal without an "aggravating" factor.
Mr Salmond also had to win over the Roman Catholic Church's Bishop of Paisley Philip Tartaglia with a promised clause on freedom of speech, a call also made by the Church of Scotland.
Earlier, the bill was backed by Holyrood's justice committee, by five votes to four.
But it recommended steps to ensure its measures were reviewed after a period of time and asked ministers to make clear what other action was being taken to tackle sectarianism, and how much money was being spent on training police to deal with online hate crime.
The cross-party committee also accused football authorities of failing to take firm action to deal with offensive, football-related behaviour.
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