KYLE LAFFERTY has been slapped with ten-game ban by the Scottish FA.
The striker will miss months of action for Kilmarnock now after being punished by Scottish football's governing body over the use of a sectarian slur.
A statement from Lafferty reads: "I want to deeply apologise to the club, supporters and my family for the distress caused over the past month. I totally acknowledge that my reaction to the incident was completely out of order.
"There is no excuse, it’s something that I immediately regretted and have been embarrassed about ever since. I absolutely accept that I should not have responded to provocation in that manner.
“I placed myself in a position that has been very difficult to deal with, so I’m now determined to work with Nil By Mouth to ensure that others, particularly the youngsters at the club, learn from my mistake and avoid putting themselves in any type of similar situation in the future.”
In September, footage emerged online of Lafferty using sectarian language when speaking to what appeared to be a Celtic fan.
The 35-year-old was on Northern Ireland duty at the time. He was dropped from the squad while Killie carried out a swift investigation.
The Rugby Park club revealed that Lafferty admitted to the slur. As a result, they hit the ex-Rangers and Hearts man with a significant fine and ordered that he work with anti-sectarianism group Nil By Mouth.
Lafferty was then hit by a notice of complaint by the SFA, charged via their fast-track procedure under rules 77 and 81.
With his hearing held today on Thursday, October 20, the striker has been handed the minimum punishment of a ten-match ban.
This means Lafferty will be out of action until the New Year for Derek McInnes.
He has started in Killie's last four matches, scoring against Hearts and Dundee United.
A Kilmarnock spokesperson said: "Kilmarnock Football Club and Scotland’s leading anti-sectarian charity, Nil By Mouth, will continue to work with Kyle, as well as members of the club’s first team and academy squads, to provide education and deliver training that has been developed to tackle the issue of sectarianism in society.
"In addition to working closely with Nil by Mouth, Kyle has committed to assisting Kilmarnock’s ‘Football for All’ programmes on a weekly basis.
"The club would once again like to thank Nil by Mouth for their continued support."
