Inquiry launched after Raith Rovers player struck by coin thrown by Dundee United fan.

Rovers midfielder was seen clutching his head during goalmouth melee

Raith Rovers have launched an investigation after a player was struck on the head by a coin thrown from the crowd.

Ross Matthews was seen clutching the side of his head after the incident during Saturday’s match against Dundee United at Stark’s Park.

The Kirkcaldy club said the 21-yearold sustained a minor injury but claimed the encounter could easily have had “disastrous consequences”.

Chief executive Eric Drysdale said the coin, which appeared to have been thrown by a fan in the United end of the stadium, had hit Matthews just above the ear.

“As luck would have it didn’t make contact with the eye,” he said.

“It’s a relatively minor injury, but an inch to one side and it could have had absolutely disastrous consequences.”

Mr Drysdale and other club directors are reviewing CCTV footage of the clash as well as video taken by Raith TV in an effort to identify the person responsible.

The police and the Scottish Football Association will be informed if an identification is made.

“We are obviously looking at this to try to find out who may have done it and if we can identify somebody we will take it further,” Mr Drysdale said.

“This is both a football matter and potentially a criminal matter, so if we do have evidence of what happened we would intend to involve both football and non-football authorities.”

The incident happened towards the end of the crunch match, which Raith won 2-1 – making it the fifth consecutive game without a win for United.

Matthews can be seen running into a congested penalty box following a melee in which four players were booked.

A missile is then seen soaring through the air and hitting him above his left ear.

The player staggered and almost sank to his knees but was able to finish the

I don’t recall a similar incident at Stark’s Park in my time. ERIC DRYSDALE

match, despite a large bump on his head.

Mr Drysdale added: “I don’t recall a similar incident at Stark’s Park in my time.

“It does happen from time to time at other matches but it’s not a common occurrence,”

A spokesman for Dundee United said the club had been informed of the incident and were currently awaiting further information.

The police said they had not been contacted regarding the matter.

Raith’s Ross Matthews, No 12, can clearly be seen holding his head during the weekend’s match against Dundee United.