In an unsurprising Judgment an employment tribunal has held that supporting Rangers Football Club does not amount to a protected philosophical belief within the meaning of the Equality Act 2010.
The Claimant had been a supporter of Rangers for 42 years. He attended all of their matches, was a member of the club and as a part of that membership received annual birthday cards from the club.
The Claimant sought to argue that supporting Rangers was a way of life and as important to him as attending church is for religious people.
The tribunal concluded that being a supporter of a football club was not capable of being a protected philosophical belief. While the Tribunal did not dispute that the belief was genuinely held, the Tribunal concluded that the remaining legal criteria for assessing whether he should benefit from protection under the Equality Act as a result of his support for the club were not satisfied.
- The tribunal explained that the definition of “support” (being “actively interested in and concerned for the success of” a particular sports team) contrasted with the definition of “belief” (being “an acceptance that something exists or is true, especially one without proof”).
- The Claimant’s support for Rangers was akin to support for a political party, which previous cases had made clear does not constitute a protected philosophical belief.
- Support for a particular football club did not represent a belief as to a weighty or substantial aspect of human life and had no larger consequences for humanity as a whole. It lacked the required characteristics of cogency, cohesion and importance.
- Support for Rangers did not invoke the same respect in a democratic society as matters such as ethical veganism or the governance of a country.
Although support for a football club can often take on a quasi-religious fanaticism for some, the Tribunal has set out that it does not reach the threshold needed to grant protection from discrimination.
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