THE Scottish parliament is to be asked to vote on proposals that would ban alcohol-brand sponsorship of sport Stewart Maxwell, the Scottish National party MSP whose private bill paved the way for a smoking ban in Scotland, is now turning his attention to links between the drinks industry and sport.

He is to introduce a bill banning alcohol advertising on football jerseys and rugby shirts for which he hopes to secure cross-party support.

Maxwell believes Scotland should follow the lead of France, which banned alcohol advertising in sport in 1991.

Any ban would be a severe financial blow to football and rugby clubs which have received drink firm sponsorship worth more than £20m in recent years.

Celtic and Rangers are sponsored by Carling in a multi- million-pound deal. Hibs has a sponsorship deal with the Whyte and Mackay whisky, while the Scottish cup tournament is sponsored by Tennent’s lager.

The Scottish Rugby Union has a long-standing deal with The Famous Grouse.

“Alcohol advertising on football and other sports shirts has to go,” said Maxwell. “I cannot accept that it is right to connect football or any other sport with alcohol. It is highly inappropriate to see 10-year-old boys and girls running around with Carling lager or Whyte and Mackay whisky logos on the front of their shirts.

“Youngsters idolise football and rugby players and it surely cannot be right for their shirts to advertise products which are detrimental to sporting success.

“At the moment we are sending out a dangerously mixed message to our children and it has got to be stopped.”

Maxwell, who intends to introduce a member’s bill at the start of the next parliamentary term, is confident that the ban would be backed by politicians of all parties. “When I proposed banning smoking in public places, a lot of people said it would never happen,” he said. “Now is the time to again think about bold solutions and begin a whole new debate over alcohol.

“Almost everybody is afraid to say what needs to be said about alcohol because they are scared it would be unpopular with voters. It is not in anybody’s interest that Scotland descends further into the mess of serious social problems associated with our drinking culture.”

While Maxwell conceded that an outright ban on alcohol sponsorship might be some way off, he added that he believed it was time to address the social and health problems caused by drinking. “We have to go down the road that we started 30 or 40 years ago with cigarettes,” he said.

“We have to start restricting alcohol advertising and gradually bring the public with us to accept that this is a serious social problem.

“Phasing out alcohol advertising completely is still some way off, but at the moment the drink firms have an almost free rein.”

Earlier this year Dr Mac Armstrong, Scotland’s former chief medical officer, said that he would support a ban on sports sponsorship by drinks companies.

Last week Alcohol Focus Scotland said it backed Maxwell’s campaign. “We do not think it is appropriate to have alcohol logos on football and rugby shirts that are being worn by children,” said a spokeswoman.

However, Coors Brewers, which owns the Carling lager brand, said that a blanket ban was disproportionate.

“The best way to reduce alcohol harm is to target the minority who cause problems rather than penalise the majority who enjoy drinking responsibly,” said a spokesman.

He highlighted television and radio advertisements produced by Carling where the managers of both Celtic and Rangers appealed for supporters to drink sensibly.

A spokesman for Tennent’s lager added: “It is misguided to believe that alcohol sponsorship of sport leads to an increase in alcohol consumption.

“There is a lot of evidence which shows that sports sponsorship is about creating brand loyalty and brand switching and is not about encouraging people to drink more.”

Iain Blair, secretary of the SPL, added: “We don’t feel there is any need to change sponsorship regulations.

“The various companies involved in sponsorship of Scottish football all promote responsible behaviour and that’s important. I don’t see any problem with football shirts having a Whyte and Mackay logo, a Tennent’s logo or any other logo for that matter.”

Earlier this year Rangers agreed to sell their new home strip without the Carling logo on the jersey following complaints from Muslim supporters that their religion prohibits anything that promotes the drinking of alcohol.

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