KAMARA: I should have walked off
GLEN KAMARA last night expressed his deep regret at not walking off the Ibrox pitch after allegedly being racially abused by Ondrej Kudela. Breaking his silence on the incident that occurred late in Rangers’ Europa League clash with Slavia Prague on March 18, the Rangers midfielder says he is now subjected to online abuse on a daily basis. Kudela has strenuously denied the allegation and has claimed that Kamara physically assaulted him in the tunnel after the match. On Tuesday, UEFA started proceedings against both players with Kudela handed a provisional one-game ban for effectively admitting a lesser
charge of insulting his opponent. He faces a ten-game ban if found guilty of insulting the ‘human dignity’ of Kamara on the grounds of his skin colour and race.
The Rangers midfielder could be banned for up to five games if it is established that he punched the Czech after the final whistle.
Reflecting on the incident on camera for the first time last night, Kamara was clear in his recollections of what was said to him after Kudela put his hand up to his mouth.
Three weeks on, he remains annoyed he simply didn’t walk off the park as soon as it happened.
‘He came over and what he said (was): “You’re a monkey. You’re a f ****** monkey and you know you are”,’ Kamara told ITN News.
‘From there I reacted and I said “He’s racist, he’s racist”.
‘My team-mate (Bongani Zungu) heard it. I had a lot of emotions going through my mind. I was angry and upset. I felt humiliated.
I will get racist abuse every day on Instagram, every day easily
‘All my family, friends, fans… whoever was watching.
‘If I could go back to the time of the game, I’d walk off the pitch. One hundred per cent.
‘I was taken aback. I had so many different emotions and felt like a victim. I just felt like a little boy.
‘It was a very weird feeling… it was such a big stage, Europa League, a big tournament and it was... I don’t know what it’s called or really to explain how I felt. Hopefully, I never have to feel that again.’
Slavia have repeatedly denied any wrongdoing on Kudela’s part and claimed at the time to have made a police complaint over the alleged altercation in the tunnel.
Referencing a picture which showed Slavia ultras holding up a racist banner directed at him the day after the game, Kamara says he has recently experienced a sharp increase in online abuse.
‘I haven’t paid much attention to what he (Kudela) has done after this whole incident, but I’ve seen their fans, how they’ve reacted, and I’ll get (racist) abuse probably every day on my Instagram,’ he explained.
‘Every day, every day, easily. I’m not one that gets really affected by it, so I’m all right. But how the team (Slavia) has reacted and taken it… it’s sad, to be honest.
‘I feel like I need to tell my story. The online messages I’ve been getting, the racial abuse online, Instagram, Twitter, wherever else.
‘I felt like I need to tell my story and, as the victim, I feel like it needs to be said.
‘The amount of statements Slavia have been putting out… I think I need to play it right and tell my side of the story and the truth. I feel like it’s over to UEFA now. And, hopefully, they can come up with a response.’
It remains to be seen how harshly European football’s governing body punish Kudela in the event he is found guilty. Kamara’s lawyer
Aamer Anwar has demanded that a minimum one-year ban be handed down.
‘It needs to be a big punishment,’ said Kamara. ‘Are they (the right sanctions) in place right now? Probably not, no.
‘I know a lot of black players who get racially abused. This kind of thing shouldn’t be in the game. It’s an everyday life thing. I don’t know in our lifetime if we’ll ever see it change, but if I can make a change in some way, I will do it.’
The incident led to various Scottish Premiership clubs following the lead of some down south by standing before matches instead of taking the knee.
On that decision, the Finland international said: ‘It hasn’t changed anything. We’ve done it for a whole season and towards the end of the season. What’s come about (because of) it? It hasn’t changed anything.’
Asked what message he’d give to Kudela, Kamara added: ‘I hope it never happens again. I can only imagine how the black players on his team feel. I think enough is enough.’
Kudela had been ruled out of tonight’s Europa League quarterfinal against Arsenal at the Emirates due to illness and injury before his one-game suspension.
There was a possibility Police Scotland would have travelled to London to interview him as part of their investigation, although it is understood Kudela could yet face a criminal charge on the basis of witness statements.
‘He is not here,’ said Slavia boss Jindrich Trpisovsky. ‘He has some health issues. He has fevers and is taking antibiotics.
‘I really don’t have an answer. He wouldn’t have played anyway. It is not only him who we are missing.’