Celtic midfielder Scott Sinclair was shocked to be on the receiving end of racist abuse at Ibrox on Saturday and has insisted there is no place in football or in society for that kind of behaviour.
As the Hoops ran riot against their rivals in a 5-1 win, a supporter made a monkey gesture at the former Chelsea, Manchester City and Aston Villa player.
Bath-born Sinclair learned of the incident after the game and has been given support from his team-mates and beyond.
The 28-year-old said: “There are always going to be people like that and I think it’s always in football.
“We want to kick it out because there is no need for it but, like any player who goes through it, I’ve just got to get my head down and go on.
“None of us realised until after the game but all of my team-mates got behind me.
“That’s the first time in my career that it has happened so I was quite taken aback.
“It is a minority of people, but I was quite shocked when I learned about it.
“As I tweeted, no matter who you support there is no need for anything like that in football or society.
“It was one of those things. It seems it will always be around with a minority of people – it’s always going to be there.
“There will always be people like that. I’ve got to carry on with my football and keep enjoying that.”
Sinclair is a heavy favourite to win the PFA Scotland player of the year award and the football writers award after a stellar first season in Scottish football.
He added: “The season has gone far better than I could have expected, 100%.
“When I look back at the season now and think about how well its gone, it’s far better than I thought it would be.
“It’s got better and better with each game.
When any player comes to a new club you just want to hit the ground running and do as well as you can.
“In the first five or six games, I scored and it took a little bit of the pressure off.
“If a player comes in with a price-tag and don’t score or do so well in the first few games – people are going to doubt you.
“So it was nice to get off the mark and go on a good run.”