Hibs fan banned from attending matches after being accused of throwing vodka bottle which 'just missed' Rangers star

A Hibs fan who is accused of throwing a vodka bottle on to the pitch that narrowly missed Rangers star Borna Barisic has been banned from attending matches until he stands trial.

Michael McLaren is alleged to have launched the glass missile from the East Stand at Easter Road Stadium when Hibernian played the Ibrox club last year.

McLaren, 32, is also said to have thrown a drinks cup towards the field of play when the two clubs played out a fiery Scottish Premiership clash.

Light Blues defender Barisic was lying injured on the Easter Road turf following brutal tackle from Hibs defender Ryan Porteous when a bottle landed close to him.

Porteous was subsequently red carded for his tackle in the 60th minute of the rowdy Scottish Premiership match and a police officer was seen carrying the empty bottle from the pitch.

The incident was caught by TV cameras and saw both sets of coaches angrily confronted each other on the sidelines with Gers coach Tom Culshaw and Easter Road assistant John Potter being shown red cards.

Hibs boss Jack Ross also had to be held back as he clashed with Rangers No2 Gary McAllister.

Hibernian FC officials immediately launched an investigation into the bottle throwing incident and after scouring hours of CCTV footage McLaren was eventually identified and arrested.

McLaren, from Leith, Edinburgh, appeared at the capital’s sheriff court yesterday where he pleaded not guilty to the charge of recklessly throwing a bottle onto the pitch at Easter Road stadium on December 20 last year.

Sheriff Robert Fife set down a trial date for later this year and ordered McLaren to stay away from any regulated football match in Scotland as part of his bail conditions.

McLaren denies recklessly throwing a drinks cup and a glass bottle towards the field of play whereby the bottle landed on the field of play to the danger of players and officials at Easter Road Stadium, Edinburgh, on December 20 last year.

Rangers went on to win the heated encounter 3-0 thanks to two early goals from Ryan Kent and Joe Aribo and a second-half strike from Jermain Defoe in front of 19,540 fans.A bottle was also launched from the same Easter Road stand at Celtic star Scott Sinclair when Hibs played the Hoops on March 2 last year.

The incident took place as Sinclair prepared to take a corner with the bottle landing just yards away from the Englishman before referee Willie Collum retrieved the object.

And a Hibs fan was caged for 100 days after he ran onto the Easter Road turf and angrily confronted Rangers captain James Tavernier just six days after the Sinclair incident.

Cameron Mack, 22 leapt over hoardings to confront the Gers full back during the second half of a Scottish Premiership match on March 8 last year.

Mack, Port Seton, East Lothian, was sentenced to a custodial term the following month after admitting a breach of the peace charge at Edinburgh Sheriff Court.