Glen Kamara slammed UEFA for failing to hammer racism accused Ondrej Kudela and revealed he has been bombarded by online abuse every day since the incident.
And the Rangers midfielder admitted he regrets not following manager Steven Gerrard’s advice and walking off the pitch following the alleged slur.
Czech defender Kudela covered his mouth as he approached Kamara who revealed the Slavia Prague stopper called him a “f****** monkey” in the dying minutes of the Europa League last-16 second leg tie at Ibrox last month.
Kudela was handed a one-match ‘provisional suspension’ by UEFA for misconduct, meaning he misses tonight’s tie with Arsenal, as they conclude their investigation into the incident.
But emotional Kamara - who revealed he felt “humiliated” and like a “little boy” has also been charged and faces a potential five-match ban for allegedly assaulting Kudela in the tunnel following the fiery Euro clash.
Slavia Prague have defended Kudela - who could be hit with up to a 10-match ban if found guilty - and Kamara hit out at the Czech side and their fans who have continued to racially abuse him on social media.
Kamara’s lawyer Aamer Anwar said the punishment for Kudela “makes a mockery of UEFA’s claims they take racism seriously” and Kamara wants to see more done.
The 25-year-old Finnish international midfielder said: “There has to be a balance in terms of him getting a one-game ban. I don’t understand it.
“There’s so much evidence in what has happened and hopefully they can come to a conclusion and see what’s really happened here.
“He came over and he said ‘You’re a monkey, you’re a f****** monkey and you know you are’. From there I reacted and said ‘he’s racist, he’s racist, my team-mate heard it’
“It needs to be a big punishment - they probably aren’t severe enough. I haven’t paid much attention to what he’s 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.
“Every day, every day easily, I’m not one that gets really affected by it, so I’m all right. But how the team has reacted and taken it. It’s sad to be honest.
“The online messages I’ve been getting, the racial abuse online, Instagram, Twitter, wherever else. I felt like I needed to tell my story and as the victim, I feel like it needs to be said.
“And the amount of statements Slavia has been putting out, I think I need to play it right and tell my story, my side of the story and the truth. I feel like it’s over to UEFA now. And hopefully they can come up, come out with a response.”
Kamara, who was born in Finland but is of Sierra Leonean descent, admitted he wishes he had taken a stand and walked off the pitch and says taking the knee before games hasn’t had the impact he’d hoped.
Speaking to ITV news, he said: “If I could go back to the time of the game I’d walk off the pitch, 100 per cent. This kind of thing shouldn’t be in the game. It’s an everyday life thing and I don’t know if we’ll ever see it change in our lifetime but if I can make a change in some way I’ll do it.
“The manager was actually trying to get me off the pitch but it’s like I was on my own on the pitch and I couldn’t hear anyone.
“There were so many different emotions going through my mind - angry, upset and I felt humiliated with all my family, friends, fans whoever was watching - and I wasn’t listening.
“I was taken back a lot. I felt like a little boy. It was a very weird feeling. I hope it never happens again. I can only imagine how the black players on his team feel.
“I think enough is enough. Taking the knee hasn’t changed anything. We’ve done it for a whole season and towards the end of the season this comes up.”
