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Daily Record
Daily Record
Sport
Mark Walker

Rangers and Sparta Prague row takes fresh twist as Glen Kamara representatives and SFA hit with legal threat

Rangers star Glen Kamara 's lawyer Aamer Anwar and SFA advisor Marvin Bartley have been threatened with court action in the Czech Republic.

This follows 10,000 school kids singling out Kamara for abuse during Rangers ' Europa League clash against Sparta Prague, which has gone unpunished by UEFA due to "insufficient evidence".

Kamara suffered racist abuse last season from Slavia Prague defender Ondrej Kudela, who was later handed a ten-match ban by UEFA, which he has taken to the Swiss-based Court of Arbitration for Sport to appeal.

Legal representative Aamer Anwar launched the blistering attack through Record Sport after it was announced in Nyon that no action would be taken, branding the governing body "a joke".

(AFP via Getty Images)

He has also stated previously that the Czech Republic has a 'culture of denial' and a 'deep-rooted problem with racism in society'.

Prague lawyer Adam Batuna has taken aim at those comments as he demands an apology for the Finnish international lawyer's comments.

He also called for an apology from SFA Equality And Diversity Advisor Marvin Bartley, who heavily criticised the Czechs.

Livingston assistant Bartley previously said on Twitter of the abuse of Kamara: "in no way is this the fault of the children because they're behaving in a way they see adults do/encourage" adding "what chance do they have when placed in a bowl with rotten fruit?"

Batuna said: "It offends me to hear that I am a racist. I live in Prague, I have a lot of friends of different skin colours and what I read from Mr Anwar appalled me.

"His contributions show that he considers not only Prague people, but also the Czech Republic in general to be a country that has a big problem with racism. And I don't think any nation and any city can like such claims.

"Everyone has the right to an opinion, we have freedom of speech. But there must be no dishonesty, which is definitely the case here.

"These are not only Mr Anwar's tweets, but also the statement of Marvin Bartley who compared Czech parents and children to rotten fruit.

"My friends and I said we couldn't leave it at that. As a lawyer, I was asked to act.

"We will demand that the gentlemen apologise for their statements and for damaging the good name of the Czechs and Praguers. Sure, you can find racists in every country. But it is not possible to apply such a comment to everyone.

"We are looking for a way to bring an action before the Czech courts, under Czech law, which is now more complicated than before due to the withdrawal of Great Britain from the European Union. I believe that within a few days we will know how we are doing.

"If they were to apologise, then I wouldn't file a lawsuit, but that doesn't seem very likely and I can say that in the case for the protection of a good name, the chances of success are great."

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