The Scotland team is more than just a football team. It’s a symbol of everything we would like to be as a nation – flamboyant, exciting, glamorous and colourful.
The quote is attributed to former Scotland manager Andy Roxburgh, and while it would certainly be a point of contention whether the national side were ultimately any of these things under his watch, I have been thinking of these words a fair bit since the passing of Denis Law last Friday.
For if the Scotland team encapsulates the hopes of the nation, then nobody embodied the qualities that Roxburgh describes, or indeed the spirit of the national side, more than Law.
‘The Lawman’ was in possession of all the virtues cited. He was also – despite his world class talent - humble, humorous, passionate and fiercely patriotic. To paraphrase Roxburgh, he was everything that we as Scots should aspire to be.
His passing is devastating for his family first and foremost, of course, with the tragedy of his final years sadly an all-too common tale among footballers of his generation, as vascular dementia wrought its terrible toll.
Slowly, there has been a recognition from government and footballing authorities in the intervening period that more needs to be done to support these heroes of yesteryear, and it would at least be something if Law’s tragic end highlighted that need, and moved that conversation on further.
Just a couple of weeks ago, Amanda Kopel - the widow of former Dundee United defender Frank Kopel, who died of vascular dementia aged 65 back in 2014 - hit out at the Scottish Government for their attempts at delaying a welfare benefit that may support former footballers in such situations.
For Kopel, the holdup is unacceptable, with many players dying before they receive any help at all.
Read more:
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Scotland & Man Utd legend Denis Law dies aged 84 after 'tough battle'
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Denis Law in pictures as Scotland and Manchester United legend dies aged 84
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Graham Spiers: From scrawny kid to world star, The Lawman had it all
"The Scottish Government are just kicking the can down the road and are failing by trying to delay it even further,” Kopel told the Daily Record.
“It is frustrating and just not good enough. How many players have gone to their graves without getting any help?"
Let’s not forget, while Law was indisputably among the best players of his generation in a global context, being the only Scot to ever win the Ballon d'Or, his remuneration as compared to the general public would probably be in line with what your average Scottish Premiership player earns today.
For those not on his level, and few were, they were paid broadly in line with the average worker. These guys weren’t millionaires. Even Law himself had to find work as a carpet salesman upon his retirement until he moved into punditry.
The DWP still administer the industrial injury system in Scotland under an ‘agency’ agreement, despite a deal being struck a decade ago to devolve these powers to Holyrood. And as yet, neither the UK nor the Scottish Government have committed to taking that step to reclassify neurodegenerative diseases as industrial injuries. To their great shame.
Instead of getting bogged down in the mudslinging and blame games over who is at fault or who is responsible for this injustice, as inevitably seems to happen whenever any mildly political issue is raised here, it is the duty of politicians of all shades to call upon both the UK government and the devolved administrations to do whatever they can to move this debate out of its current morass.
The Scottish Government, along with the Scottish FA, to their credit, have been at the forefront of efforts to at least lower the risks associated with playing football, collaborating with sportscotland to produce a single concussion policy for all sports back in 2015.
Furthermore, the SFA reacted to Dr Stewart’s study on the link between neurodegenerative diseases and football by producing heading guidelines for children’s and youth football, and then for the adult game two years later.
That has come too late though, sadly, for many former players. In recent years we have lost the likes of Billy McNeill, Gordon McQueen and now Law in such cruel circumstances. If the plight of these greats fell on deaf ears, then goodness knows how many lower profile footballers have fallen through the cracks.
It is a great idea, and it would be a fitting tribute to a man who meant so much not only to the Tartan Army, but to Scotland as a whole, and a great many beyond these borders.
Just as fitting a tribute though would be for his loss to refocus and reenergise efforts on getting help to former players who are now paying a horrible price for the joy they gave to us all.
As we reflect on Law’s legacy, we should also reflect again on just who it is we want to be as a nation.
