Hibs' Gray & Ross condemn missile throwing

Hibernian have "identified four men involved in throwing missiles, including a glass bottle" during Friday's defeat by Rangers.

And the club say CCTV material has been passed to Police Scotland.

A glass bottle thrown from the stand landed near Rangers' Borna Barisic while he was down injured.

"We will continue to review the footage, and we expect to identify any others involved," said a Hibs spokesperson.

The incident happened when Barisic was lying prone after a tackle that led to Hibernian's Ryan Porteous being sent off during Rangers' 3-0 Scottish Premiership win.

"Fans must understand that throwing missiles is dangerous for the players and for fellow fans, and it blackens the good name of the club," the Hibs spokesperson added.

"All supporters identified as taking part in any unacceptable behaviour will be dealt with by the club and by the legal process.

"We invested in enhanced CCTV cameras to tackle precisely this kind of behaviour, and those who misbehave should know we will leave no stone unturned to identify them and bring them to book."

'Set a severe example'

Earlier on Monday, Rangers manager Steven Gerrard called for "serious actions" from clubs to protect players from missiles thrown by spectators.

"Only action from the clubs will help or stop it in the long run," Gerrard said.

"We can't just talk about it in the media. The individuals need to be identified because I do believe it's a minority.

"They need to be punished and punished heavily so it stops other people trying to do it in the future. It's a crazy decision to throw a bottle on to a football pitch. The damage you could do is unthinkable.

"If the punishment isn't severe enough then people will continue to make bad decisions from the terraces. There needs to be an example set - a severe one - and then that will make people think and things will improve."

'Well would be willing to take players off pitch' - Lasley

Hibs travel to Tynecastle on Boxing Day to face rivals Hearts, where last season then Hibs head coach Neil Lennon was struck by a coin, and a fan was convicted of punching Hearts' goalkeeper Zdenek Zlamal.

"I think if we're united and consistent in our condemnation of it, then we may get somewhere in terms of eradicating it," current Hibs head coach Jack Ross said of fan misbehaviour.

"The decision to throw objects at another human being is ridiculous. We can't portray it as being a one club problem, it's repeated incidences of anti-social behaviour, repeated across the games at different times.

"Whatever the attendance is at Tynecastle, the vast majority of people there are there to watch the game and enjoy the occasion and revel in the atmosphere that these games provide."

Scottish Professional Football League chief executive Neil Doncaster said in a statement: "The scenes witnessed at Easter Road were as depressing as they were unacceptable. Once again, a small number of so-called fans have tarnished our game and like all genuine supporters the SPFL utterly condemns their actions.

"It's extremely encouraging to see the significant investment which Hibernian FC have made in a state-of-the-art CCTV system paying off. Their ability to identify the alleged perpetrators so swiftly is great news for the game and I want to congratulate [Hibs chief executive] Leeann Dempster for her robust approach to this issue."