The Scotsman

Slavia accuse Ibrox club of ‘biased pressure’ in Kamara probe

- By ANDY NEWPORT

Slavia Prague chiefs have demanded Rangers put a halt to what they describe as "escalating biased pressure" being applied to UEFA and police investigat­ing the alleged racial abuse of Ibrox midfielder Glen Kamara.

But the Rangers player's lawyer insists there is already enough evidence available to have Slavia defender Ondrej Kudela charged by officers.

European football's governing body and Police Scotland are both probing the explosive events that took place during the Europa League clash in Glasgow on March 18, when Kamara claims he was branded a "f***ing monkey" by Kudela.

Rangers managing director Stewart Robertson gave an interview to Sky Sports News on Tuesday afternoon in which he said he was "in absolutely no doubt over what happened".

He added: "You could tell by the reaction from Glen Kamara and (fellow Rangers midfielder) Bongani Zungu that something horrific had been said."

But those comments have riled the Czech outfit, with Slavia president Jaroslav Tvrdik hitting back in a lengthy statement yesterday as he claimed Kudela was being treated as if he had already been found guilty.

Slavia began their statement by saying that Tvdrik "demands the halt of escalating biased pressure on UEFA and police officials regarding the investigat­ed incidents".

Tvrdik then said: "The pending investigat­ions conducted by the officials of UEFA and the local police have made no findings so far.

"However, our player Ondrej Kudela has already been the subject of a public 'conviction' without any evidence whatsoever. He is a victim of prejudice and a presumptio­n of guilt.

"The UEFA ethics and disciplina­ry inspector is still conducting an investigat­ion regarding the incidents in question and has been granted additional time until April 5 to deliver his report.

"We believe in an evidence and law-based process whereby Ondrej and our club both provide necessary cooperatio­n to the respective authoritie­s. We have presented evidence which, in our view, cleanses Ondrej of an unjustifie­d accusation of racism.

"The sad side of the whole matter is that Rangers are trying to cover up overtly aggressive play by their team. During the match itself, our goalkeeper Ondrej Kolar was gravely injured and sustained a frontal sinus fracture."

Tvrdik also repeated his claim that Kamara later assaulted Kudela in the Ibrox tunnel after the final whistle. That incident is also being investigat­ed by Police Scotland and UEFA.

However, Kamara's solicitor Aamer Anwar claims Police Scotland could act now to charge Kudela over the racism claims without having to speak to the defender.

Speaking to TALKSPORT, he said: "We're very much expecting him to be charged.

"The police have collated the CCTV and have spoken to corroborat­ing witnesses, including Zungu, who heard what happened. So on the Scots

Law, I suspect very much that what we have is what's called 'sufficienc­y of evidence' to charge Mr Kudela without requiring to speak to him.”

 ??  ?? 0 Rangers and Slavia Prague players clash after Ondrej Kudela’s alleged comments to Glen Kamara
0 Rangers and Slavia Prague players clash after Ondrej Kudela’s alleged comments to Glen Kamara

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