EAST Fife's victory over Stranraer was tarnished after visiting midfielder Gregory Tade accused an opponent of racially abusing him.
Frenchman Tade, 22, alleges that East Fife's Kevin Fotheringham insulted him at the end of a match which saw the
Methil side stretch their lead at the top of the Third Division to 13 points.
It is understood Fotheringham's alleged comments sparked ugly scenes in the dressing-room area and the incident will be included in referee George Salmond's report.
"I've had problems with this guy every time I've played against him, even when I was with Forfar and he was with Raith Rovers," said Tade.
"Even though he has a grudge against me I don't think I've done anything bad to him. Even though I know he doesn't like me, if I make a bad tackle or foul him I always apologise to him because I just want to play clean football.
"On the pitch, he just went out of his way to hurt me, then when he had his mates with him coming off the pitch, he racially abused me.
"It's left a bad taste in the mouth. I can handle bad tackles and all the other things that go on the pitch, but I can't handle the racism."
Stranraer manager Gerry Britton, who has worked alongside his assistant, Derek Ferguson, for the 'Show Racism the Red Card' campaign, deplored the alleged treatment of his player. "I've no problem with the result of the game, but racism is something that sickens me," he said. "The ref says he'll include it in his report, so, hopefully, the authorities will do something about it."
East Fife manager Dave Baikie seemed uneasy discussing the incident. "I didn't see the incident and I've not heard anything from the boys," he said.
While events afterwards overshadowed the 90 minutes, the result leaves East Fife in a commanding position at the top of the table.
Craig O'Reilly gave them a 50th-minute lead before Kevin Nicholl levelled for Stranraer with a low drive in 67 minutes.
East Fife clinched victory, though, when defender Greig McDonald lashed home from close range with seven minutes left to leave Stranraer 15 points off the pace in third place.
The full article contains 387 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
