A Labour MSP's bid to scrap the Offensive Behaviour at Football Act has cleared another significant parliamentary hurdle.

Holyrood's justice committee voted to reject two amendments proposed by the Scottish Government to the repeal bill, which would have delayed the scrapping of some sections of the legislation.

The move was voted down by six to five, with all those in favour being SNP MSPs.

The repeal bill, put forward by Labour MSP James Kelly, earned the support of all four opposition parties when it faced its first parliamentary vote last month.

MSPs are now set to have a final vote on the matter and if passed would likely see the law scrapped before the end of the current football season.

Speaking after the committee, Kelly said: "This is another big step forward for the campaign to scrap the Football Act.

"Now that the SNP's last-ditch attempt to buy injury time has failed, it looks like it'll only be matter of weeks until this discredited law is taken off the books.

"Ministers now need to start investing in anti-sectarianism projects and accept that the failed Football Act is set for repeal."

The Act was passed by the then-majority SNP government in 2011 in the face of opposition from all other parties.

Since coming into force, it has faced criticism from some football fans and the legal profession but the Scottish Government believes repeal could lead to minority communities feeling open to abuse.

A Scottish Government spokesman said: "The vast majority of football supporters are well-behaved and research from a YouGov poll also shows that 83% of respondents support laws to tackle offensive behaviour at football matches.

"The Act makes it clear that no section of society is exempt from standards and behaviours that are considered acceptable everywhere else.

"Repealing section 6 creates a legal gap by removing protection from religious communities as highlighted by equality and victims groups.

"We believe this is a backward step as the ability of police and prosecutors to charge people for unacceptable behaviour will be compromised."