Kyle Lafferty: Kilmarnock star hit with 10-game ban over sectarian comment and admits 'embarrassment'

Kilmarnock striker Kyle Lafferty has been hit with a ten-match ban by the Scottish FA for use of sectarian language.

The Northern Ireland international was filmed calling a member of the public a "fenian b******" when they shouted “up the Celtic” while the players posted for a picture. Killie have released a statement in which the 35-year-old apologised for his actions.

Lafferty, who helped Kilmarnock reach the League Cup semi-final, won’t be available to Derek McInnes until that encounter with Celtic at Hampden Park in January. He admitted he was “embarrassed” about his response with Killie accepting the ban.

“I want to deeply apologise to the club, supporters and my family for the distress caused over the past month,” the former Rangers and Hearts star said. “I totally acknowledge that my reaction to the incident was completely out of order. There is no excuse, it’s something that I immediately regretted and have been embarrassed about ever since. I absolutely accept that I should not have responded to provocation in that manner.

“I placed myself in a position that has been very difficult to deal with, so I’m now determined to work with Nil By Mouth to ensure that others, particularly the youngsters at the club, learn from my mistake and avoid putting themselves in any type of similar situation in the future.”

Scotland’s leading anti-sectarian charity, Nil By Mouth, will continue to work with Lafferty and the club’s first team and academy squads, to provide education and deliver training that has been developed to tackle the issue of sectarianism in society.