A coin attack on an assistant referee during the Livingston v Rangers match has been branded a "primitive act".

SFA chief executive Ian Maxwell condemned the incident which marred Sunday's league match.

Calum Spence suffered a cut head after he was struck by a coin from the East Stand, which housed the travelling Rangers support.

Scotland's head of referee operations also expressed disgust at the assault.

John Fleming said: "On Sunday a competitive contest between Livingston and Rangers was marred by an unsavoury incident, in what should have been a great advert for the game in this country.

"Instead I was horrified to see one of our officials, Calum Spence, have to receive medical treatment after being struck by a missile thrown by a spectator.

"It is completely unacceptable for someone contributing to the sport to be the subject of such a cowardly, reckless act.

"I'm sure I speak for the vast majority of people when I say that it simply cannot be tolerated."

Mr Maxwell also vowed to crack down on such behaviour.

He said: "This kind of primitive act - whether something is thrown at players, staff or officials - should be driven out of the game.

"We all have a responsibility to behave in a responsible manner and respect the game we all love.

"At a time when there is so much to be positive about with regards to Scottish football, hopefully this is a wake-up call for some that there are lines of basic decency that should not be crossed."

The SFA chief executive praised Rangers for the club's swift bid to identify the individual involved.

He also thanked the Livingston medical staff for their response during the game.

Mr Maxwell added: "More than anything, I would like to pay tribute to the commitment and professionalism of Calum, who dealt with everything in context and continued with his role."