Glen Kamara issued a strong statement hitting out at the ‘vile racist abuse’ that was allegedly said to him by Slavia Prague defender Ondrej Kudela in their Europa League clash last night.
Kamara and his Rangers team-mates reacted with fury as they claimed Czech defender Kudela had whispered a discriminatory slur into the midfielder’s ear while cupping his hand.
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Slavia rejected the racism claims and accused Kamara of assaulting Kudela in the tunnel after the final whistle.
Now, in a statement released through lawyer Aamer Anwar, Kamara gave his version of events as he hit out at Kudela.
He said: “There is no place for racism or any form of bigotry in football.
“Since summer many of us have taken the knee in solidarity with those who have lost their lives to racial violence.
“If UEFA genuinely wants to ‘show racism the red card’, then it’s time to stop the tokenism and take a zero-tolerance approach.
“As a player I do not expect myself, nor any other to have to tolerate racial hatred on or off the pitch in 2021.
“The vile racist abuse by Ondrej Kudela, took place on the international stage, and any failure to act by UEFA will be viewed as a greenlight for racism.
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“During yesterday’s match with Slavia Prague, Kudela was arguing with a Rangers player and after I tried to intervene, he told me to shut up and then said ‘one second my friend’.
“He then came over to me covering his mouth, leaning into my ear, he uttered the words – ‘You’re a f****** monkey, you know you are’.
“I was shocked and horrified to hear such racist abuse from a professional football player.
“Kudela’s claim he simply swore at me and said ‘You’re a f****** guy’ is a complete utter lie, which does not stand up to any form of scrutiny.
“Kudela’s actions were deliberate and premeditated, but he was loud enough for my team-mate Bongani Zungu to hear what was said.
“I am grateful for the unconditional support of my team, our club and especially our manager Steven Gerrard.
“I want to thank not just our Rangers fans, but the many fans from across the football community and beyond, for calling out racism not just against myself, but also fellow player Kemar Roofe, who was subjected to a tirade of racist bile on Instagram.
“We as black players are sick of the freedom that such bigots are given to parade their hatred on social media and wonder when the likes of Instagram will start to take action.”
The Gers were beaten 2-0 by Slavia Prague at Ibrox in a fiery Europa League game that saw two of Gerrard’s players sent off, but the match was overshadowed by the ugly scenes towards the end.
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The battle is said to have continued in the tunnel after the final whistle, with Slavia chiefs claiming Kudela was ‘hit with fists’ by Kamara.
“UEFA is aware of an incident which occurred in the tunnel after the end of the match and which involved some players of both teams,” a statement read.
“We are waiting to receive detailed reports of the match officials who were present at the game before commenting further.”
Reacting to the incident, Rangers boss Steven Gerrard said: “Glen Kamara to me is one of my own, like the majority, all in that dressing room. I 100 per cent believe what he is saying in terms of the accusation.
“Other players around him heard it so I will stand toe to toe with Glen Kamara and I’ll deal with this however Glen wants to deal with it.
“I am proud of all my players, tonight showing solidarity and from the top of this club to the bottom we stand with the players. This situation is over to UEFA now. I just hope it doesn’t get brushed under the carpet.
“I feel angry. It’s extremely disappointing. There is too much of it happening around football. The Slavia player has caused this and he has also caused a situation like this to escalate even further because straight away you get the fans joining in and the racism grows and grows.
“Something needs to happen quickly. That is above me. But 100 per cent I stand beside Glen Kamara, whatever happens going forward.
“UEFA will take this upon them I’m sure they will speak to both players and we will let other people deal with it. All I can confirm is that my player tells me he was racially abused.”
As Gerrard called for action to be taken, Slavia officials hit back at Rangers’ claims, accusing the Ibrox club of ‘unprecedented malicious play’ and said Police Scotland had been asked to get involved.
During the game, Kemar Roofe was sent off for a studs-up challenge on visiting keeper Ondrej Kolar’s face – leaving the player with a huge head wound – while Leon Balogun received his marching orders for two yellow cards.
In a statement, Prague bosses said: “The club denies the allegations of racism of one of the team captains Ondrej Kudela.
The statement said that Kudela spoke to one of the Rangers players and was quoted as saying: “I told him ‘You f***ing guy’. It was said in emotions, but I absolutely deny there was anything racist in those words.”
It continued: “Slavia players faced an unprecedented malicious play from their opponents. They have never experienced such play in any game they participated in the modern history of the European competitions.
“Many brutal tackles resulted in injuries of our players. Goalkeeper Ondrej Kolar travelled to a hospital with ten stitches on his head.
“After the end of the game, the team was not allowed to enter the dressing room.
“Ondrej Kudela was assaulted by player Kamara and hit with fists in the head with manager Steven Gerrard witnessing the incident.
“Even the UEFA representatives who were also present on the site of the incident were shocked by this behaviour.
“The team is now safe accompanied by the Scottish police.”
On the game itself, Gerrard had no excuses for the defeat.
“Congratulations to Slavia, they deserved it over the two games.
“In no way, shape or form do we sit here and be bad losers, coming out with excuses.”
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