Dundee United accept an apology from former striker over comments

Dutch striker denies quotes that appeared in sports magazine and led to the Tannadice club taking legal advice

Mario Bilate has apologised to Dundee United in the wake of an article that was critical of his former club.

Bilate was quoted in Dutch sports magazine Voetball, claiming that a host of hamstring problems stemmed from misdiagnosis and poor treatment from the Tangerines’ medical staff.

The striker reportedly said: “In my first season I had a pain in my hamstring, which was something I’d never experienced before.

“I was wrongly diagnosed. They didn’t spot the problems.

“I would return to action too soon and things would go wrong once again.

“The club didn’t give me an MRI scan. They drew up a recovery plan for me before they knew what my problems were.”

Bilate was also quoted as calling the city of Dundee “a drab, gloomy, working-class town.”

However, the Russian-born Dutchman has since apologised to the club in general and chairman Stephen Thompson personally.

It is also understood that he denies saying what was in the article, insisting he was misquoted.

United were furious at what they viewed as a serious slur on their professionalism and felt Bilate had breached terms of his leaving settlement agreement, which bans the player from speaking about his time at Tannadice.

They even said that they had taken legal advice and were considering suing the player.

However, they have now accepted Bilate’s apology and wish to put the matter behind them.

Picture: SNS, Mario Bilate: claims to have been misquoted in article.