Gerrard proud of ‘show of strength’ amid racism row
STEVEN GERRARD has praised the strength of character of his Rangers squad after Glen Kamara was allegedly the subject of racist abuse on Thursday night.
The midfielder reacted angrily to a comment made by Ondrej Kudela during the closing stages of Slavia Prague’s Europa League victory at Ibrox as the Czechs clinched a place in the last eight.
Several Rangers players – including Bongani Zungu and Connor Goldson – were furious at the comment from Kudela as he cupped his hand and shouted in the ear of Kamara during a break in play.
Gerrard and Goldson both spoke passionately about the issue of racism in football yesterday morning and it has been a testing time in the Liverpudlian’s managerial career.
“You could say that,” Gerrard said. “It has been a test trying to handle the situation in the best way that I can.
“But one thing for me that is non-negotiable is the support for my players. As I said, some things happen on your way as a player, a coach or a manager where sometimes it is not really football related, it is bigger than football or a different issue from football.
“One thing I will always be is side by side with all my players to be the biggest support that I can be, whether that be for a family reason, something like [Thursday] night or anything else that comes along the way and on the journey.
“Obviously it was a surprise and a shock, not just for me but for everyone connected with the club but what I can say is that everyone stuck together and showed real solidarity and stuck together and we have done everything we can, as a club, over the years to help eradicate these situations away from the game.
“I think this is a time and a moment where everyone needs to show their strength. It is a real testing time for everyone, it is not what we want to be involved in.
“But it has happened, it is what it is, and it is very important that we stick together, that we stay strong
and that we are there for each other, especially Glen Kamara and some of the players in the group that have suffered some abuse over the course of the last 24 hours. I want to be that person that is there for them, and I will be.”
Rangers will return to action when they face Celtic tomorrow and look to record a third successive Old Firm win to move a step closer to an unbeaten Premiership campaign.
The incident between Kudela and Kamara came in the closing stages of a 2-0 win for Slavia that saw Rangers bow out of the Europa League and suffer only their second defeat of the season.
Gerrard said: “In an ideal situation you want to go into a big game with a weeks preparation behind you.
“You want to go in 100 per cent mentally and physically prepared and ready.
“But you can’t control these situations and the schedule. The Old Firm is going to come on us pretty quick after last night.
“We have to accept the outcome of last night and we will analyse and debrief the game.
“Now the challenge is to get the players as best prepared we can before kick off.
“We have a big squad here and we have an opportunity to make some changes and freshen things up.
“But the motivation of being ready to play should not be needed for a game like this. It should be in your DNA to be ready for a game like this.”