SPFL board member Mike Mulraney says football clubs need help to deal with crowd disorder if the Scottish game is to improve.

Representatives from all 42 senior clubs met at Hampden on Tuesday and heard proposals to introduce facial recognition technology at Scottish grounds to identify known troublemakers. Punishments for clubs who fail to prevent offensive behaviour would be increased as part of the new initiative.

League representatives have already met with the Scottish Government to discuss possible public funding for the proposals, which could cost up to £4m, and Mulraney says the sport needs outside help to deal with "a societal problem".

Speaking to STV, the Alloa chairman and SPFL board member explained the plans in further detail and emphasised the need for change.

"What we’re looking at the moment, and it’s at an advanced stage of discussion but still up for discussion, is a twin strategy," he said.

"One [strategy] is to stop people coming in, and for that we need infrastructure changes and investment, and second, one where we expect the clubs to agree to sign up to a robust, laddered structure of punishment, effectively, if they fail to act appropriately to ensure that things get better.

"We’ve had discussions with government and with others about the fact that current legislation doesn’t seem to be working and we’re having real difficulties keeping people out of our grounds.

"What we’re looking at, at the moment, is an airport-style CCTV facial recognition system where we can stop the people who are acting inappropriately from coming in.

"That would be a shared resource and shared information between the clubs. We don’t even need to know the person’s name. We just need to know what they look like and the technology would keep them out."

The SPFL proposals come at a time when incidents at games involving Celtic, Dundee United and Rangers have been the subject of public discussion and Mulraney said that the league were concerned about the image of the game. He said that the government shared their view on Scotland's image and may be persuaded to help implement a solution.

"It could cost a lot of money and if it was a 42-club solution then it could cost up to £4m," he said. "For that we need infrastructure help.

"We have a societal problem in Scotland and we recognise that.

"Football is often used as a megaphone to export that message throughout the world and we don’t want that to happen. So we need help. We need help from the government if that’s going to happen and we need help from others, like the police and so forth.

"I think that’s something that’s worth investing in if we can achieve that. With that comes our responsibility to ensure that we accept what happens if we fail.

"The government has indicated that they are willing to talk to us about how to make it better and we’ve had a number of meetings at the highest level. They accept that it’s not the message they want exported from Scotland about who we are as a nation and, if it’s possible, I think they are minded to help us.

"But we accept it is a lot of money.

"We’re looking at a number of scenarios and at the moment we’re discussing it because it’s important that the public, as well as the clubs, know that we are doing something. The exact details of that, obviously the working groups are working on it.

"We would rather keep it to ourselves at this moment in time about how it would be structured."

Alongside the introduction of new technology, clubs will consider a new set of rules and sanctions surrounding supporters' conduct.

The new plan would see punishments increase incrementally for clubs that fail to address misconduct and act to eradicate disorderly behaviour in stadia.

"At the start, it’s a warning," Mulraney explained. "That’s much the same as a number of punishments that happen in the law.

"Ultimately we’re looking at points deductions.

"That would be mandatory if you reached the top of the ladder: you would get a points deduction for failing.

"It’s up for discussion but at the moment we’re suggesting it’s a five-step progression to that stage. We are looking for a robust response, from the clubs to ourselves, if we don’t do everything within our power to make things better.

"There’s a huge appetite to improve things. There’s a huge appetite to discuss how we make it better. I think it’s important that clubs are allowed an opportunity to absorb what’s been put forward by the working group.

"I think everyone is on board that we want to improve things but we need help.

"Forty-two football clubs can’t cure the problem on our own."