ALEX Salmond has defended the controversial Offensive Behaviour at Football Act while appealing for an end to sectarianism in Scotland.

He said scrapping the Act – which he admitted “isn’t perfect” – would “send out entirely the wrong signal at this time.”

His comments came after he introduced the latest surprise guest at his sold-out show at the Edinburgh Fringe, Alex Salmond ... Unleashed: Hibernian FC manager Neil Lennon.

The former captain and manager of Celtic shared his experiences of abusive behaviour from fans and also spoke movingly of his own struggles with mental illness. There was plenty of joking and banter between the two – Salmond is famously a Hearts fan and introduced the Hibs manager while wearing the maroon and white of Heart of Midlothian.

Sitting in front of a screen displaying Tory MSP Murdo Fraser’s infamous tweet about the “Queen’s XI” Rangers giving the monarch a perfect birthday present by beating Celtic, Salmond said: “To a certain extent, football is the last redoubt of sectarianism in Scotland, though I have seen it creeping back into politics for the first time in many years.

“This has to be tackled and confronted. Sectarianism has been in our beautiful game too long, and we have to do something about it.”

Lennon echoed his remarks. “There is no place for sectarianism in football and politics,” he said. “It should not be in the stadium.”

He explained how he had spent 13 years playing in England and playing for Northern Ireland but when he moved to Celtic “the whole attitude to me was different” and he had to stop playing for his country because of death threats when he was appointed captain.

Asked by Salmond if he could ever envisage managing Northern Ireland, Lennon said: “Of course. I did my coaching badges in Belfast and things are a lot better now in Northern Ireland, probably better than they have ever been, so I wouldn’t have any hesitation if I was asked.”

Lennon praised Scotland as a beautiful place with great people and also said that since moving to manage an Edinburgh club he had found life a lot easier – though he joked that his rugby-loving son, 11-year-old Gallagher, was giving him a hard time and supported Scotland against Ireland in the Six Nations.

Discussing the press, Lennon explained that his former manager Gordon Strachan once described the difference between managing in England and managing in Scotland.

He said: “Dealing with the English press is like swimming with dolphins and dealing with the Scottish press is like swimming with sharks.”

Lennon also opened up about his experience with depression while playing with Leicester City and later at Celtic. He said: “I was 29, at the peak of my career. I had everything I could want, playing for a Premier League club and earning many thousands of pounds per week. What did I have to be depressed about?

“Then it hit me. It wasn’t until the club doctor came to see me and told me I had clinical depression. He told me to treat it like an injury, that I wasn’t 100 per cent, but I’ll recover in four or five weeks. Now I know what I am dealing with.”

With a final impassioned plea for an end to sectarianism, Salmond quoted The Corries’ famous song Scotland Will Flourish: “Let the Scots be a nation proud of their heritage/With an eye to the future and a heart to forgive/And let us be rid of those bigots and fools/Who will not let Scotland live and let live.”