United players took a stand against racism
Micky Mellon revealed why his determined Dundee United players refused to take a knee – in a fierce show of solidarity for Glen Kamara.
Mellon’s United men chose to break with recent custom by standing instead of kneeling prior to kick-off, after Rangers star Kamara allegedly received racist abuse at the hands of a Slavia Prague player in their powderkeg UEFA Cup clash at Ibrox.
And manager Mellon insisted his Tannadice troops got together in a visible display of support in a bold bid to bring about some serious action to tackle racism within football.
Mellon said: “It was a decision taken by the players.
“We fully back them on it. They wanted to stand side-by-side with their own team-mates.
“They made that decision and wanted to show that support for the players at Rangers.
“They felt there was not enough getting done and that taking a knee had just become a gesture.
“So they wanted to take that stand today and show they want more done about it.
“They want people brought to task for it because it’s not acceptable.
“We’ve got all different types of cultures here at Dundee United and have so over the years. We just wouldn’t accept it here.”
Meanwhile, the manager applauded his players for their hardfought win over the Dons and challenged them to kick on in the weeks ahead.
Mellon, whose side are eighth in the table, said: “I think on the first-half performance we deserved to win. I will always be honest in my assessment and that’s how I felt.
“We did everything required to get a very big result against a really good Aberdeen team.
“We’re a team that needs time to grow in order to put in performances like that.
“All credit to the players, they have delivered on that over so many weeks by working so hard on the training field.
“This is another step forward for us. We want to become a force in the Scottish Premiership.
“We’ve got mixed feelings about where we are in the table right now, but the challenge now is can we find the kind of consistency we’re looking for?
“We’ve had a lot to put up with but from where I was standing I just couldn’t understand why we didn’t get a penalty here when Fuchs was brought down in the second half.”