PFA praises James Tavernier for way he dealt with Hibs incident

Rangers captain James Tavernier has been praised for the way he handled the situation when confronted by a fan on the pitch during his side’s league game with Hibernian at Easter Road on Friday.

A 21-year-old man was arrested after the incident which came just six days after a glass bottle was thrown towards Celtic’s Scott Sinclair during a Scottish Cup tie against Hibs at the Edinburgh ground.

The players’ union, PFA Scotland, has called for talks to address the recent outbreak of crowd disorder.

Fraser Wishart, chief executive of PFA Scotland, said: “We find ourselves at a loss for words after yet another incident at a football ground which has endangered the safety of one of our members. We previously used the term ‘groundhog day’ and we can’t believe we are back here discussing this topic again, just days after a bottle was thrown at a player during a match at Easter Road.

Hibs fan is led away by police after running onto the park to confront James Tavernier. Picture: SNS

“We commend James Tavernier for his calm handling of the situation last night. We also welcome [Hibs chief executive] Leanne Dempster’s swift condemnation of the incident and her comments that ‘nothing is off the table’ with regards to sanctions and action.

“It is clear that the current processes in place are not working and we call for open and candid discussions between the relevant authorities to ensure that these dangerous practices are stopped once and for all.”