Hamilton Accies chairman fumes over fan 'hate crimes' as banning orders to be dished out

dailyrecord.co.uk:

Hamilton Accies chairman Allan Maitland has hit out at fans who aimed vile abuse at manager John Rankin and the board of directors during Saturday's dramatic play-off win over Alloa - claiming 'hate crimes' have been committed and those responsible will be banned from matches.Some supporters turned on the management team and stormed towards the directors box during the Championship play-off semi-final second leg at New Douglas Park.Accies were trailing 3-0 on aggreate at the time after losing early goals to 10-man Wasps, but they went on to mount an astonishing comeback, winning the tie 5-3 and booking a place in this week's final against Airdrieonians.A visibly angered Rankin revealed in his post-match press conference that one fan made disgusting comments about his wife and children.Tensions between supporters and the club's board have been a constant this season amid their league struggles, with chants of 'sack the board' a regular fixture.

And this incident comes just a fortnight after the club's owner, Colin McGowan, claimed 'a couple of bad apples' within the support had cost the club investment from a potential new custodian over fears of the flak they would need to put up with from fans.Now, Mr Maitland has issued a lengthy statement on the club's website, blasting the fans who launched verbal abuse on Saturday, telling them they are not welcome back at the club.The statement read: "In my role as the chairman of the club, I feel the highs and lows of all Accies supporters and fully understand the frustrations of the last few seasons when we haven’t reached the standards expected from our club."I also understand the need on occasions to vent that frustration – however there is a line where the expression of that