Falkirk striker Kevin O'Hara has received an eight-match ban for 'excessive misconduct' after abusing Dunfermline's Dean Shiels over his missing eye.

The Scottish Football Association issued O'Hara and team-mate Joe McKee with two separate notices of complaint  in the Irn-Bru Cup match between the rivals on October 7.

O'Hara attended a hearing at Hampden Park on Thursday, with  McKee set to appear at the home of Scottish football next week.

Sportsmail understands that O'Hara and McKee were accused of making malicious comments and gestures towards Shiels.

The former Kilmarnock and Rangers player underwent an operation to have his right eye removed in 2006 due to a domestic accident when he was eight years old.

It is alleged that O'Hara gesticulated towards his own eye in a mocking fashion after a coming together with Shiels, while McKee's contribution to the flashpoint was more of a verbal nature.

In a match Falkirk went on to win 2-0, a running spat developed which eventually saw a seething Shiels lash out in the 90th minute and receive a straight red card for a wild challenge on McKee.

Dunfermline manager Allan Johnston stated after match: 'I think there were maybe some poor remarks made towards Dean.'

Falkirk declined to comment on the specific nature on the complaints, with a spokesperson saying: 'We note the announcement by the SFA that a notice of complaint has been received regarding two Falkirk players. It would be inappropriate to comment further until this process has been completed.'

It is understood that the SFA accepted a request from the clubs to delay the issuing of the charges until after the Championship fixture between the sides last weekend, for fear of stoking animosity.

However, that did not appear to have the desired effect, with Dunfermline's Kallum Higginbotham red-carded for swinging an arm at McKee during Saturday's ill-tempered contest which finished 1-1.

Priding themselves on being a family-run club with a notoriously prolific academy, the accusations levelled against O'Hara and McKee are the latest blow in what has been a difficult season for Falkirk.

They sacked Peter Houston as manager back in September after a horror start to the campaign. Paul Hartley has since taken over, but the club remain slumped in the Championship relegation zone.

Dunfermline declined to comment on the matter when Sportsmail contacted the club.