East Kilbride demand police action after claims of racist abuse aimed at midfielder Joao Balde during ugly SPFL Trust clash at Airdrie

East Kilbride manager Mick Kennedy has called for a police investigation into allegations of racist abuse against midfielder Joao Balde following his side’s victory over Airdrie in the SPFL Trust Trophy.

The Lowland League champions sent the holders out of the competition on penalties following a 1-1 draw at the Albert Bartlett Stadium.

The win was marred by allegations that a supporter walked to the front of the stand and called East Kilbride’s Portuguese midfielder Joao Balde a ‘black b******’.

The injury was made worse when outraged visiting striker Cammy Elliott was shown a yellow card for protesting against the abuser as he fled, chased by a steward.

In a club statement, East Kilbride Championship side Airdrie called for the matter to be handled ‘appropriately and thoroughly’, claiming the Diamonds had ‘commenced an investigation into the matter’.

Kennedy called on authorities to investigate the latest allegation of racist abuse against the Diamonds, saying: ‘At the final whistle our fans were on the other side and the players and staff went down to celebrate with them.

East Kilbride manager Mick Kennedy has called on authorities to crack down on racism

Lisbon-born Balde has played for a host of clubs in Scotland’s lower divisions

“We’re assuming an Airdrie fan got to the very front of the stands and started shouting profanities. In it he called Joao Balde a “black b******”.

“A few of our players reacted and he turned and walked back to the stands steps to leave. One of the stewards said he would handle it and ran after him.

‘Joao was shocked and disappointed. I think his teammates thought it was worse than Joao himself. Cammy Elliott was actually booked because of his reaction to what happened.

‘I think football has done a tremendous amount of work in recent years to get this problem under control and anyone who behaves in this way should be dealt with vigorously.

“My own view is that the police should be involved to deal with this. After we scored the winning penalty, another fan ran onto the pitch and tried to attack John Robertson. A steward had to pull him back and eventually it all became a bit unpalatable.”

In November 2022, former Airdrie player Jose Quitongo lost a racial discrimination case against the Lanarkshire club.

Quitongo claimed he was racially abused by an Airdrie fan during a match with Queen’s Park in September 2021.

The club conducted an investigation, but this was subsequently dropped due to ‘insufficient evidence’.

The defender said the club had not done proper investigations and claimed he was the victim of racial discrimination.

During the employment tribunal, Airdrieonians denied the allegations and disputed further claims that some of the support had a history of racism.

Earlier this month, an Airdrie fan who gave a Nazi salute during a match against Partick Thistle was banned from football matches for four years.