Dundee’s Leigh Griffiths apologises for kicking smoke bomb into stands
Dundee striker Leigh Griffiths has apologised after kicking a smoke bomb into a group of St Johnstone fans.
The on-loan Celtic player stated he had only meant to kick the pyrotechnic off the pitch during his team’s 2-0 Premier Sports Cup quarter-final defeat on Wednesday night.
Video footage taken by a supporter and posted on social media shows Griffiths kicking the blue smoke bomb off the pitch and high into the stand housing the away fans at Dens Park.
Dundee issued a statement over the “regrettable incident” which read: “Following the opening goal a smoke generator, amongst other items, was thrown onto the park by the visiting supporters. This pyrotechnic ended up back in the stand as Leigh kicked it to remove it from the field of play.”
Griffiths added: “It was regrettable that the pyrotechnic ended up back in the stand as my intention was just to remove it from the pitch. Having just lost a goal I was eager to get the match restarted as quickly as possible and I would like to apologise for any distress caused by this action.”
Police earlier confirmed they were looking into the incident. A Police Scotland spokesperson said: “We are aware of an incident involving a small number of smoke devices at Dens Park, during the match between Dundee and St Johnstone Football Clubs on Wednesday, 22 September.
“There were no injuries and no complaints have been made to police at this stage. Enquiries into the matter are ongoing.”
Griffiths could face disciplinary action from the Scottish Football Association over the incident.
The 31-year-old returned to Dundee on loan on transfer deadline day after failing to get into new Celtic manager Ange Postecoglou’s team.