Blackburn 3-3 Birmingham

Yorke said he had been abused by two home fans as he warmed up prior to his 74th-minute introduction as substitute.

"They racially abused him. Dwight is bitterly upset and angry," Bruce said after the 3-3 draw.

Blackburn confirmed one fan had been ejected for making a gesture at Yorke, and pledged a full investigation.

The claims come just four days after racism made an unwelcome return to the spotlight when England players were abused during a friendly in Spain.

Bruce added: "Apparently it is monkey taunts and that is sick. It's all right him getting a bit of stick but when it comes to what we've just seen in midweek, everybody is sickened by it."

Yorke left Rovers for St Andrew's in August, bringing to an end a tempestuous two-year association with the club.

The Trinidad international was roundly booed by fans as he warmed up and in particular when he replaced Darren Anderton as substitute.

Bruce said: "It was something similar to the racist taunts the English players had and we just don't want to see it.

"I will sit down with Dwight in the morning and go through the whole situation."

Rovers boss Mark Hughes said he was unaware of any incident and would only comment when the facts were made clear.

If we feel there is a point to answer then we will [take action] Birmingham boss Steve Bruce

Rovers issued a statement which read: "We can confirm that a spectator was ejected for making what we understand to be a hand gesture towards Dwight Yorke while he was warming up.

"We will fully investigate the matter on Monday as part of a full debrief with police and stewards and we will study all available CCTV footage."

Blackburn chief executive John Williams later added: "We want to talk to the police, we want to talk to our stewards, we want to review all the CCTV footage.

"We'll be very disappointed if it shows that there's been any evidence of racism, but if there has, we'll take the strongest possible action.

"This is not something that we want to tolerate at Ewood Park."