The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Goncalves claims abuse led to Hearts exit
Hearts have apologised to former striker Isma Goncalves and promised to ban and report to police any fans found guilty of racially abusing the Portuguese frontman.
The 26-year-old left Hearts last month after clinching a £350,000 switch to Uzbekistan outfit Pakhtakor Tashkent.
He now claims the driving factor behind the move was the alleged racially-motivated taunts aimed at him by a minority of the Jambos support during his 12-month stay at the club.
The former St Mirren man told the Edinburgh Evening News: “I didn’t want to leave Hearts at first, but the problem was that my family were no longer coming to the games.
“There were some people making racist comments to me in the stadium and my family did not feel OK about this. It was a minority, but bad things, even from a minority, can have a big impact.
“My family should be able to go to the stadium and feel comfortable.”
Now Hearts chiefs have promised to take action against anyone found to be engaging in discriminatory behaviour after offering a full apology to Goncalves.
“In relation to the recent report of racial abuse directed towards Isma Goncalves, Heart of Midlothian Football Club wishes to make it very clear that it abhors racism and any type of prejudicial abuse, and will not tolerate any incidence of such behaviour,” said Hearts in a statement.
“The club is committed to providing support for its players and a safe working environment for all staff, and if anyone is proven to have made racial remarks to individuals inside the stadium then they will be subject to an immediate football banning order and we will report every single such incident to Police Scotland for action.