THE Hibs fan who hit Hearts keeper Antii Niemi with a

plastic cup during the derby at Tynecastle on Saturday will be banned for life by the Easter Road club, but both Hibs and Hearts could still be in trouble with the SFA.

The fan was arrested by police after being identified by Hibs supporters, who responded to a plea by team captain Franck Sauzee to point out the guilty person.

A club spokesman said

yesterday: ''Once the culprit's name becomes known to us then he will be banned from Easter Road for life, as is the normal procedure when an incident such as this happens.

''People who behave that badly only serve to tarnish the reputation of the club.''

Even so, the incident will be in the report submitted by

referee Kenny Clark, which will arrive at the SFA today and will be investigated by the disciplinary committee.

Drew Herbertson, head of the SFA's disciplinary and

referee committee, said: ''Copies of the report will go out to the clubs for comment and the matter will then be considered at the next meeting.''

Although the action of the majority of their fans will weigh heavily in the Easter Road club's favour, the fact that there was an incident last season in the Edinburgh derby at Easter Road involving a Hibs supporter and Hearts' substitute keeper Gilles Rousset near the dug-out will also be taken into consideration.

Hearts, as the host club, who therefore had responsibility for security at the derby, will also be asked to explain what

happened. None the less, it is the case that it is almost

impossible for any club to

prevent incidents like this in the modern fence-free stadiums and Hearts are no better placed than any other to cope with missile-throwing fans.

Hearts officials yesterday praised the Hibs support and skipper Sauzee for their quick-thinking after Niemi was struck from behind his goal.

Spokesman Douglas Dalgleish said: ''We are really pleased the Hibs fans acted so quickly to identify this culprit and took the heat out of a potentially explosive situation.

''We are also very grateful to Franck Sauzee for running to the fans and asking them to identify the man. Antti was OK. It was a Bovril container which hit him but he was stunned more than anything else.

''The referee spoke to him at the end of the game to get his thoughts so he could include them in his report.

''There should not be any throwing of missiles at football matches, but we are glad the Hibs support took the action they did.''

The feud off the field between Hearts chief executive Chris Robinson and former club chairman Leslie Deans had been expected to take another turn yesterday when Deans called a press conference.

However, the conference was postponed for 24 hours.

Deans and his brother,

Jeffrey, head a consortium that failed to win approval of a reputed #4.5m investment plan which would have included the sacking of Robinson who hit out strongly at his former

colleague at the weekend, claiming the whole affair was ''a publicity stunt''.

Meanwhile, Bristol Rovers last night insisted Hibs target Jamie Cureton was going nowhere.

Easter Road manager Alex McLeish is a keen admirer of the 24-year-old striker and has already seen one enquiry rejected.

However, after selling Jason Roberts for #2m last week, Rovers manager Ian Holloway is adamant that Cureton is staying put.

Holloway said: ''Jamie has not asked to be put on the transfer list and, as far as I'm concerned, he will still be a Rovers player when we kick off on August 12.

''What they offered was nowhere near our valuation and we never even came close to a deal.''