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04th October 2006

Ku Klux Klan fan incident probed

The Scottish FA is to investigate claims that Airdrie supporters taunted a black player by wearing Ku Klux Klan hats during a game at Gretna.

The incident is said to have taken place when Matthew Berkeley took to the pitch as a substitute on Saturday.

Ch Insp Stewart Wilson, who was in charge of policing at the match, said a small number of fans had white masks.

He added that inquiries were continuing to try to identify who had brought them into the Raydale Park ground.

"A small number of people who were standing among the Airdrie supporters within the ground at Gretna were in possession of white masks," he confirmed.

"They weren't wearing these masks continuously and we made an effort to identify who was in possession of them. "However, owing to the fact that it was in a standing area these supporters were pretty boisterous and moving around a lot, we were unable to do that."

'Misguided souls'

An official statement on the Airdrie United website has condemned the "unsavoury" actions of a minority of fans. It praised the behaviour of the majority of supporters but added there were always "misguided souls" who could damage their reputation.

"A couple of isolated incidents were unsavoury in the extreme and simply will not be tolerated," said the statement.

"The club will work closely with all relevant authorities to ensure that there is no recurrence either at our stadium or any other ground."

The Dumfries and Galloway side has also condemned the supporters' actions.

"Gretna Football Club will not tolerate racist abuse or discrimination of any kind at Raydale Park," said a club statement.

"We would like to reiterate our position that anyone who is identified as engaging in racist chants or action will be ejected and will face a lifetime ban. Racism will not be tolerated at Raydale."

A Show Racism the Red Card event was already planned at the Gretna ground later this month.

Source: The BBC