Steven Davis insists he knew instantly that team-mate Glen Kamara was racially abused by Slavia Prague’s Ondrej Kudela because of the furious reaction of the normally laid back Finn.
And the Rangers midfielder is adamant that racism MUST be stamped out.
Davis, speaking ahead of Northern Ireland’s World Cup qualifier against Italy - in which he’ll equal Peter Shilton’s British record of 125 international caps - still can’t believe the scenes he witnessed at Ibrox and is backing his club’s demand that Kudela is hammered by UEFA.
He said: “Glen’s one of the most laid back people I’ve come across in football and really chilled so for him to react the way he did tells you everything you need to know about the situation.
“Obviously everyone at the club backs Glen 100%. It’s disgusting really in this day and age that things like this still happen in society and on a football pitch.
“We are there to support Glen. He’s a great lad, top boy and a very good player. He’s somebody I get on really well with and I believe he has a bright future ahead of him.
"Hopefully he won’t have to deal with any more incidents like this going forward.
“There was disappointment in us going out of the Europa League but that wasn’t even discussed after the game.
"When something like that happens it is bigger than football. Everyone wants it to be stamped out of the game and society in general and hopefully we can take massive strides in doing that.”
Meanwhile, the Czech Republic manager Jaroslav Silhavy has shamefully insisted he is standing by Kudela.
The veteran Czech defender is due to return to Glasgow in June as part of their squad, with Scotland facing them in their opening game of Euro 2020 on June 14 at Hampden.
However, despite the world of football coming together to offer its collective backing to Finnish international Kamara, Silhavy insists he has no issues with Kudela.
He said: “I have spoken to Ondrej and I stand fully behind him.
“He is fully focused on the international duties that await us this week.
“What happened in Scotland has no impact on him and won’t jeopardise his place in the squad. It’s not as if he will be thinking about what happened and not concentrating.
“He’s experienced enough to handle it.”
