Annan midfielder Rabin Omar was subjected to vile racist abuse during a League Two match in January... now he tells player responsible: 'I forgive you' 

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Annan midfielder Rabin Omar says he has forgiven Clyde's Ally Love for the vile racist abuse which ended in a five-match SFA ban.

Love, 26, was found guilty of 'excessive misconduct' by an SFA judicial panel after branding Omar - the Dutch-born son of Kurdistani parents - a 'P*** b******' during a League Two game in January.

Hostilities between the pair continued in the Broadwood car park after the game.

Annan midfielder Rabin Omar says he has forgiven Clyde's Ally Love for his racist abuse

Forced to give four hours of evidence to an independent panel which took seven days to find the Clyde player guilty, 20-year-old Omar admits the ordeal impacted on his personal life and his studies as a pharmacology student at the University of Glasgow.

Speaking publicly for the first time, however, the Galabank midfielder admits his Muslim faith, and the support of his mother, Chenar Salim, helped him come to terms with the disturbing episode.

In a Sportsmail exclusive, he reveals: 'I can forgive him for what happened... that's part of my upbringing.

'Before going to Hampden for the disciplinary hearing my mum sat me down and said: "Look, if you get the opportunity to speak to him forgive him".

'That's a part of who we are, our lifestyle, our beliefs, the way my mum and my dad have brought up me and my older brother to be. We are very forgiving people.

'My mum was clear that if the chance came up I had to speak to him and forgive him. I didn't actually get the chance to speak to him at the time, but that's where I stand on it.'

Born in Delft, Holland, the Annan utility player moved to Glasgow at the age of nine

Born in Delft, Holland, the Annan utility player moved to Glasgow at the age of nine.

Racially abused during a clash between Clyde and Annan in Cumbernauld on January 2, Omar admits he still finds what happened difficult to talk about.

Admitting he had never experienced anything like it on a football pitch, he adds: 'There was never anything in my football career until that incident against Clyde.

'Racism had never happened to me on that scale. experience it all the time off the pitch. I experienced it on the street everywhere I go. But not on the level of what happened that day.

'I was shocked by what happened. Without going into too much detail I felt shocked and upset by it. I went home after it happened and it did make me think.

'It wasn't something I'd suffered on a regular basis. It was really irregular. That's why it got to me.'

The SFA judicial panel had the option of suspending Love for 16 games for his actions.

The Glasgow University student admits he still finds what happened difficult to talk about

An 11-hour session of the judicial panel at Hampden considered the report of match referee Steven Miller, video evidence and witness statements and was reconvened twice before finding Love guilty.

Ironically, the Clyde midfielder's ban was due to end in time for the away game at Annan next weekend, but will now be pushed back after a midweek clash at Cowdenbeath was postponed.

Reluctant to open up a new can of worms by criticising the length of a ban which was two games less than the one handed to Celtic's Alexander Tonev for racist remarks to Aberdeen's Shay Logan in 2014, Omar chooses his words carefully.

'I don't want to comment on how it was dealt with or the length of the ban.

'But the whole SFA disciplinary process took up a lot of my time. A lot of hours in my life.

'I have to admit that it did distract me, yeah. There was one game in particular at the end of January where we lost to Edinburgh City and my mind wasn't on the game at all.

'I have to be honest, I just wasn't there. My mind wasn't where it should be.

Ally Love, pictured playing for Brechin City in 2016, was handed a five-match ban by the SFA

'You hear people saying that once you go over the white line that's all you think about and most of the time that's true.

'This was the only occasion where something really got to me and affected my game. Usually I'm okay at putting everything going on to one side.

'But I had a terrible game. I lasted the full 90 - but it wasn't happening. I didn't say a thing to anyone afterwards. Not to the manager or anyone.'

Clyde announced plans for an internal investigation into the Love findings on February 24, with a further statement to follow.

As yet no update on the midfielder's status has been issued, despite Sportsmail contacting the Cumbernauld club for comment yesterday.