Glen Kamara has broken his silence on the alleged racial abuse he received from Ondrej Kudela and has slammed the Slavia Prague man’s lies.
The Europa League last 16 tie erupted when Kudela covered his mouth and said something into Kamara ’s ear, which sparked a furious reaction from the Rangers midfielder, as well as teammates Bongani Zungu and Connor Goldson.
Kudela claims he said to Kamara “you’re a f****** guy” but the Finn has blasted that as complete nonsense, and accused him of using an explicitly racist slur.
Manager Steven Gerrard also confirmed after the match that that is what the players in the vicinity heard.
In a statement released through lawyer Aamer Anwar, 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, 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."
Slavia have filed an assault charge against Rangers, claiming Kudela was attacked in the tunnel after the match.
UEFA are looking into both incidents.
