26th November 2005

Hibs Star: I'm sorry for racist jibe

Hibernian forward Derek Riordan is to make a personal apology to Hearts striker Rudi Skacel after branding him a "refugee".

Scotland player Derek Riordan apologised last night for his racist chants about a rival footballer.

The Hibs striker was caught on camera joining fans in boozy taunts about Hearts' Czech player Rudi Skacel. A video clip of him chanting: "Rudi Skacel is a f***ing refugee" has been circulated among fans.

Riordan, 22, was last night said to have accepted he had made a serious mistake as he celebrated his team's 2-0 derby victory over their Edinburgh rivals last month.

He now plans to apologise personally to Skacel, a spokesman for Hibs said.

The spokesman added: "He apologises for any offence he may inadvertently have caused.

"He joined in with a group of supporters celebrating the derby triumph,but admits that joining in with that particular song was a misjudgment."

Riordan stands with his arms in the air and appears to lead a singalong in the video, which lasts less than a minute.

Hearts fan John Robertson said: "It's disgusting Riordan would sing this kind of filth."

Supporters flooded the Hearts website Jamboskickback with their views on the video.

One said: "Good to see he is supporting the Show Racism The Red Card campaign."

In June this year, Riordan was cleared in court of a foul-mouthed bust-up with police.

He was arrested following a scuffle on an Edinburgh street but was cleared after his lawyer argued that telling police to "f *** off" was not a crime.

In August, Hibs manager Tony Mowbray warned his stars about off-the-pitch antics before the first derby game of the season.

He said he demanded discipline from players and cautioned them against making the wrong sort of headlines.

Source: The Daily Record