A RANGERS supporter has been fined after he admitted sending an abusive email to Old Firm referee Kevin Clancy.

Daniel Samson sent the offensive message to Clancy following the controversial derby clash between Celtic and Rangers at Celtic Park on April 8.

Samson, 25, sent the abusive email the morning after the referee had chalked off a goal scored by Ibrox star Alfredo Morelos in the 20th minute of the match.

The Gers supporter was said to have used threatening and abusive language as he heavily criticised the referee’s decision not to award the goal.

Samson, of Marr Crescent, Tranent, was arrested and charged by police in May after the SFA had reported all the threatening messages to the police on April 11.

The Rangers fan pleaded guilty to sending an email of a threatening or abusive nature to Clancy when he appeared in the dock at Edinburgh Sheriff Court on Thursday.

The messages were sent to Clancy, who is employed in the legal profession, after his work email was widely circulated online.

Sheriff Peter McCormack sentenced Samson to pay a fine of £640 to mark the offence.

Clancy is believed to have received hundreds of threatening messages from angry fans following the game, which Celtic went on to win 3-2 in front of 59,646 fans.

Following the abuse, Rangers boss Michael Beale showed his support towards the match official, despite being unhappy about several key decisions made by Clancy during the 90 minutes.

He said: “I don’t know the facts about what Kevin has been getting, but it’s not something we accept in football.

“It’s something as a club we condemn. The referee, whoever it is in whatever game, has a difficult job.

“I heard the thing about the letter and stuff like that.”

Despite Beale’s backing, the Ibrox club wrote to the governing body asking for clarification regarding Clancy’s decision to disallow the Morelos first-half goal.