Scottish league chiefs investigate fan behaviour at Ibrox and Tynecastle

The Scottish Professional Football League has acted following two games between Christmas and New Year.

In a brief statement, the league said: “Following a review of the match delegate reports, the SPFL has instructed that formal investigations be undertaken in relation to the recent Rangers v Hibernian and Heart of Midlothian v Dundee United matches, where incidents of unacceptable conduct have been reported.”

Rangers fans were heard singing sectarian songs during their 4-2 win over Hibs on December 28, including the Billy Boys.

The SPFL refused to expand on the issue under investigation at Tynecastle, but there were reports at the time of a disturbance in the Roseburn Stand during the game, next to the divide between both sets of fans.

The announcement comes 24 hours after it emerged that an SPFL working group was looking into the prospect of deploying facial recognition technology in grounds in partnership with the Scottish Government.

An SPFL spokesman added: “The SPFL is committed to addressing unacceptable conduct where it occurs.”