A row has broken out between Scottish Premier League sides Livingston and Aberdeen.

Livvy chairman Dominic Keane has accused the Dons of abusing the transfer system after agreeing a pre-contract deal with the West Lothian club's defender Michael Hart.

Keane told BBC Scotland that he expects Hart to sign for Aberdeen in the summer.

However, both the player and the Pittodrie club deny that any deal has been struck.

Under the current league ruling any club can approach a player who will be out of contract in the summer, but Keane feels the Pittodrie club have exploited the system and have failed to act within the spirit of the league.

"I think this ruling allowing a player to agree to move to another club within the same league when we are only halfway through a season is a joke," said Keane.

"I feel strongly about this and the club feels strongly about this.

"How can fans expect to judge a player when they know he is going to one of the team's rivals in six months?

"What if a player makes a mistake against the team he is going to sign for?

"What will the supporters think then? How can a manager expect to get the best from a player when they don't know how he can handle playing for the rest of the season. We have still to play Aberdeen twice.

Livingston are in talks with Guillermo Amor

"And how can chairmen pay players' wages if they know they are going to a rival club in June? The system is wrong.

"If we don't do something now, it will lead to anarchy."

The irate chairman has no arguement with Hart but says he will write a strong letter to the SFA requesting that the rule regarding such deals be changed.

Meanwhile, Livingston confirmed they are holding discussions with former Spanish international Guillermo Amor with a view to him joining the club at least until the end of the season.

The 35-year-old, who is out of contract at Villareal, is a former European Cup winner with Barcelona and was capped 37 times for his national team.