London, England - Communities Secretary Ruth Kelly intervened in the furious row over the police cautioning of the Celtic goalkeeper who blessed himself during an Old Firm match.
Ms Kelly said that she was "surprised" at the action of Strathclyde Police in a country which was supposed to value religious diversity.
The Roman Catholic Church in Scotland has already condemned the decision to caution Polish goalkeeper Artur Boruc for a breach of the peace after complaints were made about his behaviour at Rangers' Ibrox Stadium in Glasgow last season.
Ms Kelly, herself a practising Catholic and a member of the Opus Dei sect, also questioned the police action.
"I must say I am surprised because this has traditionally been a country which has valued religious diversity - and cultural and racial diversity as well - and where there has been freedom of expression, both to express religious symbols but also other cultural symbols as well," she told the BBC News 24 Sunday programme.
Strathclyde Police investigated claims that Boruc, 26, angered home fans by making a sign of the cross and other gestures at the start of the second half of the game on February 12.
Scottish prosecutors decided the Pole's actions had provoked "alarm and crowd trouble" and said he was being cautioned rather than prosecuted for the breach of the peace offence.
In a statement the Crown Office said it had been in the "public interest" to take action against Boruc.
A more minor incident would have been dealt with informally by police, it added.
The prosecuting body said: "We have a well established policy of looking carefully and sensitively at incidents involving participants at sporting events.
"The procurator fiscal concluded that the effect of the behaviour of the player on the crowd was such as to require the consideration of criminal proceedings."
Prosecutors had not seen Boruc's gesture because it was not caught on camera, the statement added, but they relied on witness statements and footage of the crowd's response.
The Crown Office said: "The procurator fiscal concluded that it was necessary to bring clearly to the player's attention that conduct which involved gesticulating at and incensing the crowd at a football match amounted to the offence of breach of the peace and was unacceptable.
"The procurator fiscal took the view that in the circumstances criminal proceedings were not necessary on this occasion, which is why it was dealt with by way of an alternative to prosecution."
The caution does not leave Boruc with a criminal record, although the information about the caution will be retained.