CLYDE midfielder Ally Love faces being sin-died from football if found guilty of repeatedly racially abusing an opponent on his debut for the club.

We understand that Love has been accused of using the term “Paki bastard” towards Annan Athletic’s Rabin Omar on several occasions during a League Two match on January 2.

And when Omar intimated that he wanted to sort the problem after the match, which took place at Broadwood, Love is alleged to have said: “Will it just be you or are you going to bring your Paki pals?”

The SFA have issued Love with a Notice of Complaint and Tony McGlennan, the Head of Compliance, wrote to both clubs last week asking for their version of events.

We have been told that Love made other racist comments during the match, which he denied at half-time when Omar complained to referee Scott Millar, and the verbal abuse was heard by players from both Annan and Clyde.

If found guilty, Love would face a ban between four and 16 matches going by SFA regulations, and his punishment, should he be handed one, is likely to severe.

if this happens, it would be difficult to see how the 26-year-old, who actually played over 70 games with Annan during a two-year spell at the club, could continue in senior football.

Omar, who was born in Holland to a family originally from Iraqi Kurdistan, is expected to be backed by Annan players, as well as his own team-mates. Indeed, two of his opponents on the day are believed to have provided assistance to referee Millar immediately after the match had ended.

Love will attend a meeting at Hampden to discuss the case. The former Brechin City player has until next Wednesday (January 17, 2018) to respond to the charge, with a principal hearing date set for February 1.

Clyde would come under huge pressure to sack they player if he failed to prove his innocence. All a spokesperson for the Cumbernauld club would say yesterday was: “We are aware of the notice of complaint; however, we will not be commenting.”

Former Celtic winger Aleksandar Tonev was banned for seven games after being found guilty of racially abusing Aberdeen’s Shay Logan in 2004.

And in 2008, East Fife’s Kevin Fotheringham was handed an eight match suspension for racially abusing Stranraer's Gregory Tade.

Only this season, Falkirk player Kevin O’Hara was banned for eight games over comments made to Dean Shiels of Dunfermline about the loss of his eye as a child, while team-mate Joe McKee was banned for four for a similar issue.