HIBERNIAN captain David Gray hopes that the supporter who threw a bottle at Celtic winger Scott Sinclair is found and dealt with by the authorities to avoid the club’s reputation being affected.
A Buckfast bottle was aimed at Sinclair from the Hibs support as he took a corner, and Gray was appalled to see such an incident at Easter Road.
“You don’t want to see that in the game, definitely not," Gray said. "First and foremost, safety for the players is the most important thing and I’m sure the club will deal with it. Hopefully, they can identify what’s happened.
“No-one expects that kind of thing to happen. At the same time, it is very few people and it’s not as if it’s happening all the time. I’m sure it will be dealt with.
“If you can stop it at source, that would be the most important thing. It is very few people who are doing it, it’s not as if it is every single week. Hopefully it can be sorted out as soon as possible because you definitely don’t want to see that in the game.
“At the time, I didn’t see what happened. I heard the reaction of the fans and now I have heard about it. It is unacceptable. Everyone knows it is unacceptable. Hopefully the person who did it will be dealt with and will feel very sorry for himself. That’s the most important thing.”
Gray says that players still feel safe on the pitch despite a spate of objects being thrown – most regularly coins, with one also thrown at Sinclair later in the game – but feels that fans around offenders could help to identify culprits to the authorities.
“There is obviously a lot of security at the games and the police do a fantastic job,” he said. “I’m sure they will do all they can to try and put a stop to it.
“There is no place for it in the game and players have to be safe. At the same time, I don’t think players are going into games feeling they are unsafe.
“As much as it is your fellow fan, it is unacceptable what they are doing so it needs to be stopped.
“If anyone has thrown anything on the pitch it is unacceptable, regardless of what they have thrown.
‘I understand that tensions get high in the heat of the moment and I thought the atmosphere was fantastic.
“Celtic fans filled the end and Easter Road is a fantastic place to play football in big games like that.
“The most important thing is for people to add to the atmosphere without overstepping the mark.”
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