Bartley praises Hibs over thorough racism probe

Hibernian have been praised for “going above and beyond to find the truth” after they conducted their own investigation to establish that one of their players had been racially abused by one of their own supporters during a match at Dundee United.

A video on social media appeared to show Hibs' Portuguese substitute Jair Tavares as the subject of a racist slur as he went to collect a ball in front of United fans.

After United carried out their own probe it was soon establishedthat,giventheplacement of microphones, the comment in question had almost certainly come from the Hibs fans, although it was deemed at the timetobeofaderogatoryrather than racial nature.

Hibs were unconvinced, however, and they revealed on Tuesday that they had carried out their own investigation and, with the aid of an audio forensic expert, had found that Tavares was racially abused by a Hibs fan.

The club have also issued a plea to anyone who can help identify the culprit.

SFA diversity officer Bartley, a former Hibs player and current assistant manager of Livingston, wrote on social media: "A lot of hard work and effort has clearly gone into finding the truth, now we have it.

"This is the benchmark for clubs when they take on investigations, no stone should be left unturned! Football should be a safe place for all and there is no place for discrimination of any kind.

"I encourage people to keep calling it out. To the Hibs fans who did just this, you are the real heroes. To Hibs as a club, thank you for going above and beyond to find the truth."