Dempster commends Bartley and thanks Hearts fans for their help

Leeann Dempster, the Hibernian chief executive, has commended Marvin Bartley for his response to the racist barracking he was subjected to at Tynecastle and has praised the swift response of Hearts officials and supporters in identifying the alleged perpetrator.

Footage of Bartley being subjected to vile abuse emerged on social media in the aftermath of Hibs’ 2-1 win on Saturday. The 32-year-old midfielder was called a “n ***** ” amid a flurry of expletives.

A number of Hearts fans utilised the club’s unacceptable conduct text line to inform the authorities of the incident.

“When I saw the incident on Monday, I was very shocked by it,” Dempster said. “Every incident of that nature is shocking, but that was particularly graphic and in terms of the audio. To see that on film was really awful. It was great credit to the people at Hearts – and the supporters of Hearts – who ensured the individual concerned was dealt with.”

Bartley showed remarkable poise in reacting to the abuse.

Dempster said: “It was incredibly difficult for Marvin to see and hear, and I felt he dealt with it really well, as did the people at Hearts.” An arrest was made in connection with an alleged racist incident at the match.

Dempster, meanwhile, has revealed that Hibs are planning to spend more than £100,000 on a state-of-the art CCTV system in a bid to combat the blight of anti-social behaviour at football. The Easter Road club has been involved in several highprofile incidents this season, with one supporter entering the field of play to confront Rangers captain James Tavernier last month.

That occurred less than a week after a Buckfast bottle had been thrown in the direction of Celtic’s Scott Sinclair.

Police Scotland interviewed 37 witnesses but have been unable to identify the perpetrator of that act, which was not caught on film due to cameras being momentarily trained on a different area of the ground. While the previous surveillance system was considered one of the best in the country outwith Celtic and Rangers, Dempster has signed off on an upgrade that will supersede anything else in use in the SPFL.

The new set-up will see 11 high definition cameras installed this summer that will cover every area of the stadium and ensure no blind spots, with one member of Hibs’ hierarchy revealing “it can read a tattoo”.

“While we already have an excellent system, every CCTV system has its limitations,” Dempster said. “It’s important that, where we think technology can be improved and help us, we utilise that.

“Prior to the events of the last couple of months, the club were already looking at additional cameras to help with supporter safety. Subsequent to the events of the last couple of months, we’ve decided to install a whole range of cameras.”

Dempster also hopes to work with Police Scotland to utilise sniffer dogs, which could help to prevent supporters entering the stadium with drugs and certain types of pyrotechnics.

And she plans to introduce an anonymous text lines so fans can report bad behaviour.

“It was great credit to the people at Hearts – and the supporters of Hearts – who ensured the individual concerned was dealt with” LEEANN DEMPSTER