KAMARA STATEMENT AND GOLDSON REACTION:
Rangers midfielder breaks silence to give his side of Prague racism row
GLEN KAMARA has claimed he was called a ‘f ****** monkey’ during Rangers’ Europa League clash with Slavia Prague as he broke his silence on the racism allegations that have sparked a UEFA investigation.
The midfielder released a statement through lawyer Aamer Anwar late last night as he spoke for the first time about the incident, a move which came at the end of a day that saw Slavia Prague robustly defend Ondrej Kudela against allegations of making a racist remark at Ibrox.
Steven Gerrard, the Rangers manager, has vowed to stand shoulder to shoulder with Kamara and striker Kemar Roofe, who received vile racist messages on social media in the aftermath of the 2-0 defeat that saw Rangers eliminated at the last 16 stage.
Kamara 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 Kedel [sic], took place on the international stage, and any failure to act by UEFA will be viewed as a greenlight for racism.
“During yesterday’s match with Slavia Prague, Kedel 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. Kedel’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.
“Kedel’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.”
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 on Friday morning and will now await to discover what punishment, if any, will await Kudela once UEFA complete their investigation.
Gerrard said: “I have a concern about that, I think time will tell in terms of the outcome. “It’s happening too much. I think there are a lot of people working extremely hard to help and support and to eradicate this through a lot of campaigns.
“That happens in football and throughout society where a lot of people do a lot of top work.
“But when it keeps happening it does give you an element of doubt than in the future we will see certain situations happening again.”
Slavia had sought to shift the attention away from the Kudela incident in the aftermath of the angry scenes that marred the end of the last 16 tie and have doubled down on their claims that he was attacked by Kamara in the tunnel post match.
The Czech league leaders have claimed that a police complaint has been filed regarding the attack and a statement read: “Ondrej Kudela is one of the team captains elected in secret polls by the players who choose characters that enjoy their trust.
“He is a decent and modest person with a strong moral integrity, popular amongst the players and fans, a football gentleman. He categorically denies and refutes any allegations of racism.
“We are shocked that his reputation and the club’s reputation are being smeared without a single piece of evidence. The only ‘alleged’ evidence is the player covering his mouth.”