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Daily Record
Daily Record
National
Matt Bryan

Lanarkshire men face trial over alleged racist song aimed at Celtic's Kyogo Furuhashi

Four Lanarkshire men accused of singing a racist song about Celtic striker Kyogo Furuhashi will face trial next month.

Ian McKenzie, 30, Mark Speirs, 26, Dylan Devine, 25, and Marc Newton, 24, are all alleged to have sang the song on a supporters bus which left from East Kilbride.

It was en route to a Scottish Premiership fixture between Rangers and Ross County in Dingwall last August.

The four men face charges of behaving in a threatening or abusive manner by singing a song containing "racial lyrics" during the bus journey.

The case is due to call for trial on February 17 at Hamilton Sheriff Court.

McKenzie is also alleged to have made a gesture in an "aggressive" manner, and furthermore he faces a separate charge of being in possession of cocaine in July 2021.

It is also claimed that Speirs and Devine behaved in a threatening or abusive manner and made a "racial gesture" and sang a "racial song" in a separate incident.

McKenzie, of East Kilbride, Speirs, of Wishaw, Devine, of Cleland, and Newton, of Bellshill, all pled not guilty at Hamilton Sheriff Court yesterday.

Lawyers for all four confirmed the case was ready to go to trial next month and their bail was continued by Sheriff Liam Murphy.

After footage emerged of the alleged racist singing, revealed by Lanarkshire Live last year, Rangers subsequently banned the Westwood RSC from attending games.

In a statement the club condemned all forms of racism.

Celtic also released a statement condemning what happened, calling the alleged behaviour "pathetic".

And later, Kyogo himself Tweeted: "I'll never walk alone."

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