Dundee United respond to Hibs statement over alleged racial abuse as Tannadice club makes microphone comment

Dundee United have issued a statement in response to last night’s alleged racial abuse incident during their 1-0 cinch Premiership victory over Hibs at Tannadice.

The Easter Road side have already called for an investigation and made contact with their United counterparts after a spectator could be heard on a live stream of the game branding Portuguese winger Jair Tavares ‘a black b******’ towards the end of the fixture, with a video being shared widely on social media.

In the clip, the player is seen retrieving the ball from out of play in a bid to restart the game quickly with a throw-in.

Marvin Bartley, the Scottish FA’s Equality and Diversity Advisor, made a series of comments last night on social media calling for the game’s governing bodies to take action while Tavares also reacted on Twitter, saying ‘time goes on and nothing changes’.

Terrors chiefs have confirmed they are probing the incident after being made aware of the video and are ‘working to isolate the area of the stadium where the audio has been picked up’.

The statement continued: “Initial investigations can confirm only two microphones were active within the stadium for the broadcast, and both were situated on our TV gantry within the Jerry Kerr Stand and placed at 45-degree angles.

"The footage shown on the broadcast at the time the alleged incident occurred, took place on the opposite side of the stadium from where the two microphones were placed.

"Dundee United has a zero-tolerance policy towards racism and racists are simply not welcome inside Tannadice Park.”

A general view of Tannadice ahead of Tuesday night's cinch Premiership encounter between Dundee United and Hibs

The 1,849 Hibs fans that travelled to Tayside were housed in the Jerry Kerr Stand, while Tavares collected the ball in front of the George Fox Stand, which is reserved for home supporters.

Some travelling fans have claimed on social media that they heard the comments coming from their section of the stadium.

Hibs said in their own statement: “We have made contact with Dundee United regarding this and would strongly support any investigation into this matter. We encourage anyone with information that could help identify the individual to come forward.

"Racist or discriminatory behaviour towards any player, official, staff member or supporter is completely unacceptable, and has no place in our game or wider society."