ALONG with Bovril, Scotch pies and rousing songs, it is one of the great traditions of Scottish football: anyone from the world of politics foolish enough to grace the centre circle can be guaranteed a rollicking from the terraces.
It is a custom from which not even a Nationalist First Minister is immune, and Alex Salmond was mocked yesterday by his Labour counterpart over claims he was "booed off the park" by Scotland fans during their international friendly with Croatia on We
dnesday night.
Appearing at Hampden to present awards for the Scottish Football Association, Mr Salmond appeared to be castigated by a section of the home support, though there were some cheers too.
His unwelcome reception was raised at First Minister's Questions, when Wendy Alexander, the Scottish Labour leader, mentioned the incident in passing, saying: "I realise the First Minister had another bad day yesterday – and I don't mean being booed off the park at Hampden last night."
John Park, a Labour MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, was at the game with his friends. He told The Scotsman that, in his opinion, Mr Salmond had definitely been booed.
He said: "There was booing, and I asked a friend who they were booing, thinking it was directed at (Englishman] Terry Butcher. No, he said, it's the First Minister."
But Mr Salmond's spokesman said the reason for the fans' ire was that a delay with the collection of pre-paid tickets meant about 1,000 fans missed the opening quarter hour of the match.
"I do not imagine the Tartan Army are any different in their views of the First Minister than the population as a whole, and if you look at the polls, he is popular," he said.
The issue was a topic of debate on the Tartan Army's internet message boards yesterday, and the consensus was that politics should be kicked out of the game.
The full article contains 325 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
