HEARTS OPEN RACISM PROBE

club owner Ann Budge, who has previously condemned supporters for offences. Last season’s Edinburgh derby was marred by a Hearts punter caught on video directing racist and abusive language towards then-Hibs star Marvin Bartley. Budge condemned this and other offences by fans in the summer, insisting: ‘If somebody sees another fan or other fans misbehaving to the point that they think: “This is unacceptable” we can do something about it — and we have done. ‘If the supporters themselves are saying: “This is not what we want going on at our club”, that’s good. That’s what we need to get to.’ A section of Tynecastle remains closed in response to previous flashpoints, although the incident yesterday is alleged to have occurred at the other end of the ground, in the family section. The latest row comes at the end of a week where England’s international match with Bulgaria was twice suspended for racist chanting, an incident which led to both the head of the Bulgarian FA and international manager Krasimir Balakov stepping down from their posts. And it follows a stark warning from the only black manager in Scotland’s senior ranks, who claimed that racism remains a problem for our game. Kevin Harper told Sportsmail last week: ‘The situation is worse now. And I think it’s become worse in the past five years.’ On Friday, meanwhile, Celtic boss Neil Lennon said he would support any of his players if they decided to walk off the pitch in response to racist abuse.