Police treat Livingston coin incident as assault

Police in Livingston are treating an attack on a football official in West Lothian as assault.

Assistant referee Calum Spence was hit by an object thrown from the crowd during Livingston's Scottish Premiership win over Rangers on Sunday.

The incident happened in front of the Rangers fans in the early stages of the second half and play was stopped while Spence received treatment.

Officers want to speak to anyone at the game who witnessed the incident.

The assault happened at about 14:50. Mr Spence suffered a minor injury to the back of his head and was treated at the scene.

'No tolerance'

Supt Craig Smith, Event Commander for the match, said: "This is a shocking incident and it is not the type of behaviour we have come to expect from football fans in Scotland.

"We will not tolerate offences of this nature. With this in mind we are eager to trace the person who was spotted throwing an object from the stand.

"I would also ask anyone who has information that can assist our inquiries to get in touch with us immediately. "

He also asked anyone with photos or footage of the incident to submit it to police.

Assistant referee Calum Spence was able to continue after treatment

Scottish FA Chief Executive Ian Maxwell said; "This kind of primitive act - whether something is thrown at players, staff or officials - should be driven out of the game.

"We all have a responsibility to behave in a responsible manner and respect the game we all love.

"At a time when there is so much to be positive about with regards to Scottish football, hopefully this is a wake-up call for some that there are lines of basic decency that should not be crossed.

"More than anything, I would like to pay tribute to the commitment and professionalism of Calum, who dealt with everything in context and continued with his role."

'Cowardly, reckless act'

John Fleming, the SFA's head of referee operations added: "On Sunday a competitive contest between Livingston and Rangers was marred by an unsavoury incident, in what should have been a great advert for the game in this country.

"It is completely unacceptable for someone contributing to the sport to be the subject of such a cowardly, reckless act.

"I'm sure I speak for the vast majority of people when I say that it simply cannot be tolerated."